SAO Alternative: Gun Gale Online-Halloween Jam
by The Celestial Sky Dragon
Summary: Haru has rapidly become good at Gun Gale Online. He has even made himself some friends in game. However, he wishes to confess his feelings to his best friend and partner Kureha. He enters an annual Halloween Jam, a contest hosted by Zaksir and Valve. However he messes up, and now his friendship with Kureha is on the line. Will he win the Contest and her Heart? Or will he get shot?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

 **Hello everyone...you might be wondering why I am starting another SAO Fic. Well it's because I want to write stuff for it but I don't feel like continuing either of the stories I got now. I wanted to continue Fatal Bullet, but I have to replay the game and get the DLC for me to actually continue. I'm also working on Danganronpa right now so I don't want to deviate time away from that for another story. That being said, this is going to be a five chapter story, as it is meant to be a Halloween special of sorts. I see a lack of stories where Kureha and Zeliska are used, don't get me wrong there are some out there but none that I find particularly interesting.**

 **I wanted to pair up the Player Character with Kureha, which was why I started Fatal Bullet in the first place, as a means to share my own thoughts during the play through through Haru, the main character and my avatar for the game. Of course it was gonna get into crazy detail and shit. I'm quite knowledgeable about guns so I had a lot of them lined up for him. But I honestly don't want to continue a story at this moment. I know you guys are asking me to continue. While the main one wont, at least you'll get a little bit of continuation through this. So I do hope you like it. I wrote this a few days ago and was going to post it, but I was considering my options before going through with it. I am working on Morning Hope Academy and The School Life of Mutual Killing, I'm almost done with the prologue of one and am working on the fourth chapter of the other so I can write them in between. My aim is to write all 5 chapters before Halloween, with the final one being on Halloween. I do hope you enjoy this prologue of sorts, see ya!**

 **Update: As of December 13th 2018, Kureha's real name, Kasumi has been replaced with her canon name Momiji**

SAO Alternative

Gun Gale Online: Fatal Bullet

Chapter 1

Halloween Jam _(Squad Jam)_

 _ **xxx(SBC Glocken)xxx**_

It had been a few weeks since Haru's first fulldive. He still remembered, the day he ended up winning his AmuSphere 2, and started playing Gun Gale Online. The VRMMORPG based around guns, rather than swords or fairies. It had rapidly grown popular, especially after the recent Gold Rush update. Haru had been convinced to play the game by his best friend Momiji. Almost instantly, he became popular, for finding a rate item, an Arfa-sys unit that not only was rare, but was necessary to complete the upcoming SBC Flugel Mission. To say he was detested among the other players was an understatement. But he tried not to let that stuff bother him much. He just wanted to play the game to the best of his ability. He had recently accessed the Old South area of the game. In order to progress toward the next area, the Forbidden Forest, he'd have to complete a few missions. So far no one had found the necessary items to move on, so he doubted anyone would reach the forest any time soon. It was supposed to be the place where the SBC Flugel would spawn, so even if they accessed the forest, they wouldn't be able to enter the ship.

Haru had grown quite strong in levels over the last few days. Since he was a Senior in high school, and the work was easy, he had a lot of time to play online. He wasn't a noob player anymore, having grown to level 44 since he had started playing the game back in early August. He owed his squad for that. His best friend Kureha had been helping him level up whenever they weren't on a mission. There was Zeliska as well, who always found information on new rare weapons or outfits, almost as if she had insider information. Of course there were his other friends, Kirito and Asuna, and their hefty squadron of people. Players that had been playing together for years now. He valued them all as equals and friends. There was also Itsuki who always joined in their party whenever he wasn't going anything, or hiding from his groupies. To say he had a lot of friends was an understatement.

Haru's avatar was styled completely different from how he normally looked. In GGO, he had light almost pale colored skin, and vibrant colored eyes. He had dark violet hair, in a spiky bob of sorts, though he wore a beret, so he didn't notice many of the spikes. He had an average build for an avatar, making him look almost like an average Joe. He was wearing an outfit that his friend Asuna had crafted for him. An Arfa-Sys M+. It consisted of a white shirt, with a small black tie. He was wearing a pair of black jeans on his legs, along with violet colored combat boots. Over it, he wore an armored jacket, violet in color, the inside of the sleeves were white, the top being black in color. The torso area was a dark violet, bearing a few markings on them. He wore a holster on his left leg, containing his side arm. He also had a phoenix painted under his eye, it was mostly for style, and he admit that it made him look a little more badass.

It had taken him awhile to get this armor, especially because he had to track down certain monsters for parts. However Asuna had been able to craft the garment for him, and he had been immensely happy with it. Eventually he'd have to give it up for stronger armor, but for now he would be able to enjoy it. It matched the one that his Arfa-sys, Hinata was wearing, though she had the female version in green. In fact, Hinata had a preference for the color green, going as far as customizing her weapons with the color. Her once brown hair was now a lengthy sky blue, reaching down past her waist. The AI had become a little sister of sorts, and she had become the center of the group, as everyone wanted to spend time with her and help her get used to other players.

While normally he'd be on a mission with friends, today he had logged in just to get some alone time. Sure he could have done this at home, as his little sister and his mother were gone. But he figured he could have some time to himself in another world. Gun Gale Online had become a sort of refuge for him. He wasn't lonely in this game, not anymore at least. He just liked coming to the observatory and looking out into the distance, his focus on the setting sun. He frowned a bit, leaning back against column behind him, resting his hand on his knee. He had been thinking a lot about his friends, however one person stuck out more than the others he knew.

It was of course his best friend Kureha. Her name was Momiji in real life, but he barely called her that these days. Even when he was talking to her in the real world, he always slipped and called her Kureha. She didn't seem to mind, in fact she preferred it. They never Face Timed or used Video Chat, as she didn't want to see him IRL. She had told him that seeing him would be a treat for when they beat the Flugel. Despite that, her avatar looked exactly like her in IRL, or so she claimed. So whenever it was that they beat the Flugel mission, he'd look forward to seeing her again. He found himself smiling a bit when he thought about his best friend, something he often did in GGO.

Despite her always yelling at him, she always did have a caring side. She had helped him in his early days of GGO, and he still had the gun she had bought him. It was something that he refused to part with, so he was going to keep it in his inventory forever. He had helped her get some nifty items too, including an outfit she had been pinning for. He remembered when she first equipped it. Her screams still echoing in his head, he had tried his hardest not to look, but found himself entranced by the pinkette. He figured that was when he truly started pinning after her. He had tried to keep it a secret, but Asuna had already realized what was happening, and had been silently rooting for him. He figured Zeliska knew about it as well, though with her he had a hard time figuring out what she thought about. She was rather secretive, and he did admit, the invisibility outfit did accent her body quite nicely.

He shook his head a bit, his thoughts drifting back to his pink haired friend. His smile turned into a frown as he continued looking out into SBC Glocken, the starting area of Gun Gale Online. He had grown used to seeing the spaceship city by now. Of course there were places he hadn't seen yet, and doubted he ever would. But Glocken was his home away from home. Watching the cars driving down below always calmed him down, especially when thinking about Kureha of all people. He sighed, placing a hand on his handgun, which calmed him down a bit.

" _Why am I acting like this? I mean...do I really like Kureha? I haven't actually seen her in years though. This sucks...I don't want any of this to hinder us in missions."_ he thought, a frown on his face. The boy drew his side arm from his hand, looking it over.

It was a Sig Saur P226. As soon as he had gotten enough money for it, he had slapped his hand down on the panel and bought it. It was a sleek pistol, the slide being chrome in color. It had a threaded barrel, so he could attach a suppressor to it. He had attached a small optic sight to it, allowing him to get a more accurate aim on his target. The handle of the gun had also been modified, the once black handle was now a rich wooden color, with a light violet tinge to it. Aside from a few things he had changed on the inside, the spring mechanism and trigger being one, he had left it as he had gotten it. He pulled the magazine from it, glancing at the bronze bullets loaded into the magazine.

".45 Caliber Hydroshock Hollow Points. These things better fucking kill shit, or else I'll be real pissed off." he muttered dryly.

"Talking to yourself? That's mighty interesting Haru, I didn't think you found bullets to be good company." a familiar voice said, startling him a bit. He glanced up, sighing a bit when he saw the familiar blonde girl, who happened to be Kirito's little sister.

"Hey Leafy, I didn't know you had logged in."

"Kirito and Asuna are on a date IRL, and I had nothing to do. I was meeting up with Liz and Silica for a quick hunt. Are you doing anything? Maybe you wanna come along?" she asked, a hopeful look on her face.

"Eh...I dunno...I kinda just wanted to look at the sunset." he said, a small frown on her face.

Leafa had become one of Haru's close friends. It was mostly due to the fact that she wanted to fly. Since she had been playing Alfheim Online, she had grown used to the Flight System. And since GGO lacked one, he used his Unlimited Fiber Gun to scale buildings with her. They usually did that whenever the two of them were alone, so he had grown used to her company. Not to mention she was good with an A.K. 47 so that always went well, especially since he was a Sniper and usually did better behind cover.

Leafa was wearing a rather unique outfit. She liked the color green, due to her origins as a Sylph in Alfheim. She was wearing a bright green sleeveless shirt, with a bullet proof vest over it, which bore a few pockets for ammunition. She was wearing a pair of tight fitting tactical pants, also bright green, with two white belts crossing around her waist. On her left leg, she had a holster, her side arm visible from within. On her right leg was an ammo pouch, filled with magazines for her rifle. She was wearing a pair of white armored boots, that she had gotten from a monster drop. He had been a little jealous of her for it, but the boots were for female players so he wouldn't have been able to wear them regardless. She tugged on her gloves a bit, glancing out at the setting sun.

"It is a beautiful sunset...but you do know the sun never sets here right? That's why there's night levels and stuff."

"I know that Leafy, I just...have a lot on my mind right now." he said, sliding the magazine back into his gun. He pulled the slide back, loading a round into the chamber before flicking the safety.

"Oh...is it about you liking your best friend?" Leafa asked, a small curious look on her face. The boy looked up at the blonde, frowning as he tightened his hold on his gun.

"I'm gonna shoot Asuna the next time I see her."

"So it is true, ha...Sinon owes me some ammo."

"You have a bet? God, is there anyone else that knows?" the boy asked curiously, causing the girl to giggle.

"Oh, only everyone except Kureha herself. You got some serious contenders though, Yuuki is a bit jealous of her. Rain has been a bit deflated too."

"Okay...I don't know how to feel about that but...whatever. You caught me Leaf, I'm sitting here because I don't know how to act around Kureha." he said firmly. The blonde girl sat down beside him, dangling her legs over the edge of the observatory.

"I know what that feels like...being in love with someone who won't like you back. I can sense a bit of apprehension in you, most likely confusion. If I've learned something, it's to get those feelings off your chest. It won't do you well thinking about them all the time, especially in a game where you can take a bullet to the face."

"You are right but...I just don't know how to approach her about it. I'm scared that if I do tell her, I might mess our friendship up. I care about her a lot, and I don't want to lose her." Haru admitted, as he glanced at his gun. He was holding it rather tightly now, his hands shaking a bit.

"Sometimes taking the plunge hurts too...I know what that also feels like. There was a time that I was in love with someone close to me. I thought he was my hero, my everything. He ignored me for awhile, and I thought that he hated me for a long time. But after that tragedy, I came to realize how much I cared for him. I told him my feelings, but he rejected me...said he had someone else in mind. It hurt, but I at least still have him in my life as my friend...that's better than nothing right?" she asked, her green eyes filled with happiness. Haru nodded, pressing his lips in a thin line.

"I suppose...but it would be really awkward after that. I just...don't want to risk anything."

"Hmm...well then I think I have a solution to your little dilemma. Did you hear about the Halloween Jam?" Leafa asked, causing the boy to furrow his brows.

"Halloween Jam?"

"So you haven't heard about it, even better. They're doing a Halloween themed competition tomorrow, since it's Halloween and all. Basically, it's a Squad Jam but with a theme. Since it's the first one they're doing they settled on a Zombie theme. Zaksir worked out a deal with Valve, and they've been working on a new updated campaign."

"Whoa what...no way, are you saying what I think you're saying?" he asked, his eyes widening a bit.

"Yup! They're adding a Zombie mode to Gun Gale Online, the first update is going to be the No Mercy campaign of Left4Dead. To say everyone is excited is an understatement, even Kirito is overjoyed." Leafa said. Haru shot to his feet, a grin on his face.

"Who wouldn't? VR Zombies, and Left4Dead too? I've been waiting for something like this for years! God, me and Kureha used to play the shit outta that game. I modded that fucker so much that it looks like a shell of its former self! This is so exciting!" he said happily. He looked like a kid in a candy store, an expression of sheer joy on his face.

"It is, it's one of the reasons I logged in. I started a small squad with Silica and Liz so the three of us will be entering. I don't know how many slots are available, but if you wanna enter then I would do it now. All the people that do will get the Left4Dead update ahead of time." Leafa said. The boy quickly holstered his weapon, grabbing a hold of her hand.

"Come on, take me to the sign up thingie!" he said, pulling her along.

"Wah...hey it should be me pulling not you!" Leafa cried out. If this had been the real world, her arm would have likely been pulled out of its socket.

The two players ran into the Governor General's office, seeing all of the advertisements for the Halloween Jam. The familiar theme of Left4Dead playing loudly over the speakers. He looked at the holographic signs, announcing the anniversary of the 18 year old game, which was still popular in the world. Leafa pulled him along, taking him to the sign up area.

"Here you are, when you sign up you have to give you Squad name. Only the leader of the Squad can resign and if they do its a loss for the team. Normally, a Squad Jam is a Team Deathmatch, the last remaining Squad winning this event. But this time around, you'll be facing other Squads, labeled _Survivors_ as well as Zombies. The first Squad that makes it to the extraction point at the top of Mercy Hospital and successfully gets evacuated wins the Jam." Leafa said, explaining the event to the boy.

"I see...it's kinda like the B.o.B. then?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, except it isn't a solo competition, rather a team based one. Your squad can have up to 6 people though. Along with Silica and Liz, we've asked Sinon to join us, since Kirito and Asuna are going solo, and Klein is going to work tomorrow. I'm not sure if Rain, Philia or Strea are entering though." the blonde girl replied. The boy shrugged, placing his hand on the prompt before him.

"Hmm...I guess this gives me an excuse to create an actual Squad. I know Kirito asked me to merge our groups together. But he'll have to wait until after this contest." he said, a small smirk on his face.

He looked at the questionnaire, quickly filling it up. He ended up naming the team, Young Blood Squadron. He had been listening to his favorite band, Fallout Boy earlier, and had decided on a whim to name it that. His eyes fell on the next part of the sign up, seeing the names for his teammates.

"Do I just enter the names of my friends here?" he asked.

"Hmm? Oh yeah...the girls were with me when I was signing up. If you don't have a Squad, as soon as you enter this sheet, a request is sent to your friends. You can also do the temporary Squad option, as soon as the Jam is over, the Squad gets disbanded." she said, pointing to the small button on the side of the sheet. He nodded, clicking that off.

"Okay then, I gotta add Hinata onto this. She is my Arfa-sys after all...okay, then I'll enter Zeliska because she owes me one and finally Kureha because if I don't, she'll shoot me." he said out loud, swiftly typing up the names of his closest friends. He had been debating on adding Itsuki into the Squadron, but knowing him, he'd likely go with his own Squad. After a second, he finished filling everything up, hitting the Enter Contest button at the bottom.

" _Congratulations, and Thank you for partaking in our first annual Halloween Jam! A request has been sent to all participating members, the contest will begin tomorrow at 5PM. Good Luck!"_ a robotic voice said, reading the pop up that the boy had gotten. It had the symbol of Squad Jam on it, though the symbol had the word Squad crossed out, the word Halloween being written above it in blood. It also had a decayed look to it, with Valve's logo at the bottom.

"This is gonna be so cool! You better watch out Leafy, I'm not going easy on you!" Haru said, a grin on his face.

"Same goes to you, I'll try not to shoot you in the face. So I hope you do the same for me!" the blonde said happily, her chest bouncing a bit. The boy flushed, giving her a nod. Haru heard a beep, seeing a blinking message at the corner of his eye.

"I got a message, probably from Kureha." he said.

"Alright, I'll let you speak with them. I'm suppose to be meeting up with Liz and Silica soon anyway. Oh and Haru...don't be afraid to let her know how you feel okay? I'm sure she feels the same way."

"I know...thanks Leafy, for the advice and for letting me know about the Halloween Jam too."

"Sure, no problem! Let me know how it goes okay? You're my friend to so if you need anymore advice, come to me. I doubt Kirito can give good advice on this sort of thing, since he's married and all." the blonde said, earning a scoff from the boy.

"You know...one day I'm gonna ask him about how he snagged Asuna. She doesn't seem like his type and yet she adores him."

"That's...a hard story to tell...he'll share with you soon I'm sure. I gotta go, text me later okay?" Leafa said, giving the boy a wave as she took off. Haru watched her go for a second, half wondering how her outfit qualified as armor, since most of her back was exposed. He stopped questioning female armor the day he played Skyrim. He tapped the Message Icon, surprised to see the message was actually from Zeliska rather than Kureha. His eyes hovered over the text.

" _Hello Haru, do you think we could meet up at the bar? Kureha and I have some questions. Regarding the competition you entered us in, we'll be waiting by the Billiards tables. Do not worry about Hinata, she and Daisy are together for the day."_

"Shit...that didn't seem like a request, that seems more like a fucking order." he muttered, shuddering a bit. He closed the message, starting his way out of the Governor General's office, leaving behind the familiar music of one of his favorite Shooter's behind.

 _ **xxx**_

8 Ball was one of the more famous places in Glocken. It was a Bar where a lot of people usually came to hang out. The bar tenders and servers were NPCs, but they blended in with the crowds, making it seem a lot more natural. The first floor was filled with regulars, people who just wanted to catch up with friends, or were planning on Ambushing squads or going on Monster Hunts. The bar was huge, filled with all kinds of alcohol. Normally, Haru wouldn't drink but there were times he did get alcohol in game. Since he was Eighteen in real life, he was able to purchase it in the game. Of course, he only got buzzed from it. It still felt like the real deal though, so those who wanted to drink with no consequences drank to their heart's content. Those over 21 were able to get fully drunk from it. As the game was American, 21 was the legal age of purchase for alcohol. He still wondered why it was even implemented, when games like ALO served Mead and Sake to the people. Haru said nothing as he walked up the stairs, finding his two friends near one of the Billiards tables.

Kureha was leaning over the table, a cue stick firmly in her grasp. Her eyes were focused on the balls before her. With a single strike, the cue ball broke balls, sending them all in different directions. A few of them landed in pockets, while others bounced around the table. She was a pretty tall girl, only being an inch shorter than he was, and had long vibrant pink hair, tied into a side ponytail with a silver hair tie, which was glowing slightly. She had a mostly pink themed outfit, a short sleeved pink and white coat with white belts and black markings on it, along with a high collar, which was white in color and lined with black threads.

She was wearing a short sleeved halter top, which left part of her midriff exposed. She was wearing a mid length white skirt with black markings on it. On her legs she was wearing mismatched stockings, the right being black, while the left was a dark pink color, she also wore long knee high white boots. Across her waist, she had a large pink pouch, which she most likely used to keep her ammunition. She also had white gloves on her hands, which reached almost to her elbows. Haru noticed she didn't have her MP5SFK slung across her back, like she normally did.

His other friend Zeliska was leaning against the wall, her eyes firmly on the table before her. She was a bit older than Kureha and Haru, though neither of them knew how old she truly was. He guessed she was at least an adult, though looks could be deceiving at times. She was known as the Uncrowned Queen of Gun Gale Online. She would join squads, only to leave them right after. Though that was more recently, she was known as a player that was 100% solo. It was how she was able to get her own Type X Arfa-Sys Daisy. She was the one who often times told them of new events, missions or weapons that came into the game with each patch. It was a bit odd that she was readily giving them that information. Then again, she mostly made them work for it.

She had side swept shoulder length silver hair, resting on her shoulder. She had a sunkissed complexion, highlighting quite an alluring natural beauty, despite it being an avatar. She had a beauty mark under her eye, both of which were a soft violet color. She was wearing a mostly violet outfit. It had dark violet sleeves, leaving her shoulders bear, the bust and front of the outfit was white in color, accenting all of her curves nicely. She wore violet pants, which left her thighs bare, her black shorts clearly visible. Around her waist was a short coat, along with a fanny pack that was filled with her ammunition. She was the first to notice him, but said nothing as she turned back to Kureha, a playful smirk on her face. The pinkette pulled her cue back, about to strike one of the striped balls.

"Oh my, I didn't think Haru and Rain would actually kiss in public." she said firmly, causing Kureha to strike the cue ball, sending it flying off the table, over the railing and onto the first floor. Her head whipped to the side, her eyes locking with Haru who was just standing there, looking at the two of them.

"Grr..you did that on purpose didn't you?"

"I couldn't very well let you sink one of my balls right?" Zeliska replied. Kureha frowned, most likely debating on breaking the stick over the older player's head.

"Whatever, at least you are finally here. For the record, would you tell us when you are going to enter us all in a competition?" the pinkette snapped, a look of annoyance on her face. The boy smirked, arms crossed over his chest.

"Ah well...I thought you wouldn't mind. After all you two owe me."

"I beg your pardon? I don't owe you shit! If anything you're the one that owes me." Kureha snapped, the grip on her cue stick increasing. Zeliska took a hold of the cue ball, which had been returned to the table by an NPC a moment ago. She lined up her shot, sinking the 2 ball with ease.

"Actually Kureha, you do owe me. If I recall, you asked me to accompany you to an abandoned factory on the Solitary Sands. Because you wanted some spare parts for your MP5. I was going to do a mission with Leafy and Rain that I bailed on for you. So uh...fraid to say, you owe me. Zeliska owes me one as well, which is why I also entered her name."

"I do recall that...you helped me locate that invisibility outfit. So I shall enter this contest with you, no questions asked. I was going to ask if you were going to join anyway. However I think next time, you should ask us ahead of time." the woman said, missing her shot. Kureha smirked, as she walked around the table, lining up her shot.

"Anyway, I didn't read the message. All I got was a temporary Squad invite, the Young Bloods, really?"

"Shut up! You know I love Fallout Boy to death! If you must know, I entered us in Halloween Jam. Leafy told me there was going to be new update for Gun Gale Online, which adds Zombies as a mode of play." he said. Kureha once again missed her shot, this time tearing the green felt that lined the bottom of the table.

"Oh my, you truly are terrible at this game, aren't you dear?"

"Shut up Zeliska. I am obviously distracted...now what's this about a Zombie Mode?" the pinkette asked. The older woman rolled her eyes, setting down the cue stick.

"Come, let's get a table. I believe this is a meeting we should be sitting down for. I already asked Daisy to bring Hinata as well, they should be here soon." she said, earning nods from the two.

It wasn't long before they found themselves at an empty table. Haru had ordered himself a soda, and was currently taking small sips through his straw. Zeliska had ordered some bourbon, saying it had been awhile since she had last drank, while Kureha went with water. After awhile though, the older woman set her glass down, folding her hands over the table top.

"Well, I'll explain the information that I have. The Halloween Jam is set to be an annual event, one of those holiday ones. The theme that was chosen years was zombies, so a zombie mode was added to Gun Gale Online. Zaksir struck a deal with Valve a few months ago. They've been working on a FullDive Zombie Game. Since this is an FPSVRMMO, they allowed Zaksir to add one campaign into the game. That being No Mercy from Left4Dead 1."

"Huh? Left4Dead? In GGO? Are you for real?" Kureha asked, almost spilling her water.

"I know! I couldn't believe it myself at first! I was so fucking ecstatic that I pulled Leafy along to the Governor General's office."

"I can tell you are a fan of the game then." Zeliska said.

"Duh, me and Haru used to stay up all night just playing Left4Dead2. It's still played today, but I haven't touched it in awhile. GGO has taken up most of my life after all. But of Zaksir is implementing this, it has to be for a reason right?"

"Yes...it's to promote an upcoming Beta for a game Valve is working on. Left4Dead Online. An MMO based on the original Left4Dead, which has a permadeath system. You all start as survivors in small groups of 4, and have to complete each level to get evacuated. They're porting the campaigns from both Left4Dead games. What's even better, Valve is apparently going to be holding contests to see who can create the best campaign, while also giving jobs to those who love programming. It's going to be an endless game, especially with all of the mods you can install."

"Hehe...Shrek Tank and Teletubby zombies here we come!" Haru said happily, finishing his soda, slamming the glass onto the table.

"Of course you'd want to install that. That does raise the question, why promote it through GGO? Do they have a partnership?"

"Mhmm...Zaksir and Valve are American Companies. So it was easy for them to get in touch and set everything up. Squad Jam became a popular thing here in Japan, which is why we're getting this update instead of the American Servers. If it goes well here, they'll release it World Wide. I heard everyone who participates gets to keep the update, and when they load GGO they can select the No Mercy server to play the game." Zeliska said, earning a nod from Kureha. She turned to Haru, who had a smile on his face.

"I guess we have another thing we can do together. It's been years since we last logged into Left4Dead2. This is gonna be a lot of fun!"

"Yes it is...I'm glad that I'll be playing with you Kureha...oh and Zeliska, and Hinata too." the boy said hastily, looking away from the pinkette. She flushed a bit, but decided to remain silent.

"Hmm...according to the information, the event begins tomorrow at 5PM. It says here that you won't be just going against Zombies, but against other squadrons called _"Survivors"._ The aim of this is to be the first Squad to each the evacuation station on top of Mercy Hospital and successfully get evacuated out of the area. The squad that wins the tournament, will get special Left4Dead costumes, along with personalized in game weapons, and figurines of their avatars sent to their home. Wow, they're not skimping on the prizes." Zeliska said, smiling slightly as she read the details.

"F-figurines? Of our avatars?" Kureha asked, a flush on her face.

"What's wrong Momoji? Scared that your sister will look at you weird for having a figure of your GGO Avatar?" Haru asked, earning a glare from the girl.

"Don't call me that here! And no that isn't it! I just don't want a figurine of myself. It's to stop perverts like you from looking up my skirt."

"But you're wearing shorts underneath." the boy pointed out firmly.

"Ha! So you have tried to look!"

"What? That isn't it, dude...you knelt down one time to give me cover fire and I happened to glance up there. It wasn't my fault, I was trying to see if you were okay!" he called back.

"Fuckin' Perv!" the pinkette cried, slapping the boy across the face. He cried in surprise, rubbing his numb cheek. Zeliska giggled, noticing the pixelated handprint on the boy's face.

"You two argue more than a married couple. Why don't you make it official already?"

"Why don't _you_ keep your mouth shut?!" Kureha hissed, grabbing a hold of her water. Zeliska just remained silent, hiding her smirk behind her hand. Haru on the other hand was frowning, his gaze elsewhere at the moment.

" _Heh...a married couple...I know I told Leafy I would do this...but I don't think I'll be able too."_

"Something the matter Captain?" Zeliska asked, causing the boy to look at her.

"Captain?"

"You're the Squad leader, so you're our captain. Anything you want us to prepare beforehand?" Zeliska asked curiously.

"Well...we're going to be facing hordes of zombies. Not just that, but other survivors as well. Left4Dead usually leaves ammo dumps in every safe room, but I don't exactly know how this one will work. It's most likely a huge map, and we'll all be trying to reach the hospital. Thankfully, me and Kureha memorized the layout enough to find a direct route. I believe Flash bangs and Frag Grenades will be good for this kind of thing. Knowing the creators, they'll probably introduce the Pipe Bomb for this thing." Haru said, his mood shifting a bit. He usually did this when talking about a mission or a hunt.

"Yes, I do agree with Haru on that. In fact, I think I'll be changing my Deneb Kaitos for an Assault Rifle. Zeliska, I believe you should change one of your weapons for a Shotgun. We're gonna be swamped by hordes, so something with a punch will do. I take it you'll be bringing your rifle?" Kureha asked.

"Mhmm...but I might end up changing it to the .308 barrel instead. There are Smokers we gotta worry about, it would also be good to counter other players. Last thing I want is to be caught off guard. That being said, we should all buy some extra ammunition for our firearms, just in case. Cleaning them will go a long way too, I already took care of that so I'll be fine." he said firmly.

"Hmm...what about Hinata? What will her parameters be set too?" Zeliska asked curiously.

"Healing of course, she'll be carrying a Shotgun too, just to have another person to clear. She'll also be in charge of our grenades, with her abilities, we should be okay. I'm not sure how many other players with Arfa-sys units will enter this thing. So having someone who can point out the locations of nearby players is ideal." he pointed out, earning a nod from Zeliska. She was about to say something, when Daisy and Hinata approached their table, both of them lost in conversation.

"Hello Master! I took care of those errands, I also managed to purchase more food along with spare parts for your guns!" Hinata said cheerfully. Haru stood up, giving her a pat on the head.

"Thank you Hinata. I'm sure you got the notification earlier right?"

"That's right, I'm glad that you decided to let me participate in this Halloween Jam! Do you need anything?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, me and Kureha are going to replenish ammo. I want you to go with Zeliska and get some grenades. If you can get some stat boosting garments, that would go along way too." he said.

"Is there anything you'd like for me to do Master?" Daisy asked, locking eyes with Zeliska, who shook her head.

"You'll be coming along with me Daisy, three heads are better than two. While Kureha and Haru are out getting ammo, we'll take care of the grenades and anything else we may need. I believe it's time to purchase new firearms as well." she said.

"Okay then...we'll buy what we need and meet up at Haru's apartment before the contest starts, at 3. That way we'll have two hours to look everything over and make sure we all have what we need, is t hat understood?" Kureha asked, earning nods from everyone.

"Yes, that will do just fine. Good luck you guys, I can tell this is going to be a lot of fun!" Haru said happily. He gave Hinata a hug, transferring some funds into her account. He and Kureha headed toward the Gun Store once they left the Bar, both walking in silence. It didn't take them long to reach the gun store, as it was only a few hundred meters from the bar. Zeliska had gone in the other direction, heading toward the Armor Shop instead.

"So...how come you didn't message us?" Kureha asked curiously, as they walked toward the other side of the store. Holographic screens towered above them, showing various types of guns, all in their neat sections. Handguns, Sub-Machine Guns, Assault Rifles, everything was in its neat little place. They decided to stop by the Handguns, as they were the closest.

"Oh uh...I had a lot on my mind. I wasn't actually looking to hang out with anyone, just wanted to watch the sunset." he admitted, placing his hand on the panel. A menu opened up, and he started looking at the ammunition.

"Gee...Federal Ammunition is so damn expensive." he muttered. He hit the arrow key, stopping on the number 5. Five cases of .45 ACP would be enough, as he already had 4 cases of Hydroshock Hollow Points in his inventory. He purchased them, seeing the 50,000 Credits disappear, leaving him with only 400,000 in total.

"Of course it's expensive, it's Federal. Why not switch to American Eagle instead?" Kureha suggested, earning a frown from the boy.

"I've been using Federal since day one...it wouldn't be right to exchange it now." he admitted. He purchased a few more magazines, adding them to his collection, before closing the menu. Kureha walked over to the Sub-Machine Gun area, already selecting her ammunition.

"I would have thought you'd have switched to something else by now. I bet the person you sold your M9 to is really happy."

"Um Kureha...I haven't sold the M9."

"Huh? But you can easily get 20,000 for it...why hang onto it?" Kureha asked curiously, brows furrowed in confusion.

"It was the first gun I ever shot...a precious gift from my friend. I could never part with it. I still have the Kagemitsu G4 too, even though I carry a Kotetsu G8 now." he admitted, patting the violet Photon Sword at his side. He had been exploiting the system a bit, though only two weapons could be equipped, if you had a third that wasn't registered to you, it could still be used. The Kotetsu G8 was registered to Daisy, but since she didn't go into the field, he was allowed to make use of it instead.

"Wow...I didn't think a common gun like that meant that much to you." the girl said with a giggle, her eyes trained on the Purchase Menu in front of her.

" _Anything you give me is special Kureha...I just don't want to get rid of any of it."_ he thought to himself. He shook his head, deciding to walk over to the Sniper Rifle area of the store.

He had recently acquired a gun from a boss drop in a high level area of the Solitary Sands. It was a Savage BA 110, chambered in .308 Winchester and .338 Lapua. All he would have to do would be to exchange the barrel in order to change the caliber, along with some other internals. It was a beautiful gun, which had become his rapid favorite, as he loved being a sniper. He had gotten an SLR Scope for it as well, making it one of the most accurate rifles out there. The muzzle break was also custom, helping spread the recoil out the barrel rather than through the gun itself. The gun was so powerful, that the target would be dead before they heard the gunshot, making it a very good rifle against other players. A Sniper's first shot could never be dodged, and as long as he kept moving, no one would ever hear it coming until it was too late.

"What are you smiling about?" Kureha asked, hands on her hips as she looked at the boy.

"Oh...just thinking about my rifle, and how many heads I'm gonna blow apart with it. I'm having a hard time though, .308 Winchester or .338 Lapua?" he asked. Kureha adopted a pensive look, as she glanced at the ceiling.

"Hmm...they can't hear the first shot, so for long range it would be good. But we aren't playing a regular Squad Jam or a Bullet of Bullets. A sniper rifle of that caliber would only slow you down, especially against the hordes of Zombies, running zombies, mind you. Is bringing a sniper a good idea?" she asked.

"Normally not...but I can still get good vantage points. Besides, if this is Left4Dead, then I wanna try to Crown the Witch, I never got that damn achievement growing up." he said, earning an eye roll from the girl.

"You never change...still while it is a bad idea, I guess as long as you have Hinata, me and Zeliska backing you up, you'll be fine. Just try not to get boxed in."

"Please, you know how high my AGI stat is? I can go John Wick on these fucks if I wanted to." Haru boasted, a smirk on his face.

"Yes, except John Wick used a Glock to kill people and last I recall, you hate Glocks with a passion."

"Excuse me, I don't like plastic guns. They feel like little kid toys, I want something that packs a punch, but still looks beautiful. That's why I selected the Sig Saur P226, not to mention this is the carry gun of the United States Navy Seals." he said, drawing his pistol from his holster to emphasize his point.

"I am aware of that, you wouldn't stop boasting about it when you bought it. You looked like a kid in a candy store...it reminds me of the time you got that rare Kagemaru toy from the capsule machine. You were so happy you wouldn't stop smiling."

"I remember that...Golden Kagemaru, one of only 500 in the world. That was plain lucky...it was the only one that had been put in that machine too...though I recall something else." he said, earning a confused look from Kureha.

"What was that? I don't remember anything else happening that day."

"Oh um...I actually gave it to you. You kept buying more and more capsules until you ran out of change. You left in a huff with a small bag of capsule toys. But in the care ride home, I heard you sniffling. I gave you that toy when we got home remember?" he asked. The girl frowned, trying to recall the memory, a small smile appearing on her face shortly after.

"Oh right...you did, I think I still have it somewhere. I gave you all of those capsules too. Of course you couldn't open any of them so we ended up opening capsules while your mom made dinner."

"Yup...that was one of my favorite days you know." he said happily. She flushed, looking away from the boy.

"Yeah well, we're not here to gallivant through Memory Lane. We're here for ammo, so let's get Hinata and Zeliska's stuff and call it a night." she said firmly, brushing past him.

It had been rather easy to procure ammunition for the two remaining members of their squad. Since Hinata used an M14 Rifle, he had already known what caliber to get her. Zeliska's rifle used 5.56mm ammunition, so he just dumped ten boxes of each in his inventory and paid up for it. He was sure Zeliska had plenty laying in her inventory, but one thing about GGO had been ingrained in his mind. You can never have too much ammunition. It reminded him a lot about his days playing Pokemon, how NPC's always told him, you can never have too many Pokeballs. It was true in a way.

"Well...that was easier than I had expected. We got a long wait time tomorrow, loading magazines is so fun." Kureha said, sounding dejected.

"It isn't so bad, you're pretty much a professional at this rate. Even I struggle with rifle rounds sometimes." Haru admitted.

"That's because you are still a noob." she said, poking his nose. He brushed her hand aside, scowling at her.

"I am not a noob! I'm over level 40 now."

"Level means nothing here you know, it's all about gun skills." she said.

"Don't make me get my revolvers out, I'll pull an Ocelot and I'm sure you wouldn't want that." he said, earning a sigh from Kureha.

"No I wouldn't...shit, I'm so happy it's the weekend. I don't gotta worry about school. What about you?"

"Same...though I am gonna be alone for the weekend. Kyoko is staying with Sayaka for the night, and mom is gonna be working out of Tokyo. So it's just me." he said.

"Oh...sorry to hear that, but hey at least you have GGO. If you want to log on after breakfast, we can go on a mission to pass the time. If we earn more money, we can easily buy whatever ammo we waste."

"Yeah, that would be cool. Gives us time to get on the ball before the Halloween Jam starts." he said. She gave him a nod, swiping her hand down to log out.

"Well...see ya tomorrow then, try not to stay up late." she joked, about to hit the logout button.

"Kureha wait!" the boy cried out, causing the girl to stop. She gave him an odd look of confusion.

"What? Something you wanna say? Pfft...don't tell me you don't want to log out yet." she said, an amused look on her face.

" _Oh god...why did I even stop her? I still haven't thought about what to say to her. Maybe I should wait until after the tournament to tell her."_ he thought.

" _Now now, don't you dare do that Haru! I told you, you have to tell her how you feel already! I'll be mad if you don't!"_ the voice of Leafa said, he glanced at his shoulder, almost expecting a Chibi Leafa to be standing on it.

"You okay? You haven't said anything, if you got nothing to say then I'm logging out." Kureha said firmly.

" _Fuck...If I do say something she'll just get mad. Especially if I start stuttering...oh god...what do I do? Can't do the subtle approach...Ah...I guess I just have to go for it!"_ he thought, a small smile on his face. Kureha just looked at him oddly, swiping her menu closed as she turned to face him, hands at her hips.

"Listen, I have no idea what the hell you want from me, so hurry up and spit it out!"

Rather than saying anything, Haru placed his hands on her hips, capturing her lips in a kiss. Kureha's eyes widened in shock, being taken by complete surprise. Everything just stopped for her, a small warning of Sexual Harassment flashing onto her HUD. Her heart started racing, causing the system to display the abnormal heartbeat before her. Haru finally pulled away, not saying anything to the girl, cheeks glowing red.

"I...sorry I shouldn't have done that...I...fuck...I like you okay? I have for awhile, I didn't know how to say it so...yeah." he said firmly. Kureha didn't say anything. She was still trying to register what had just happened in her mind, when he told her this right after. She turned away from him, swiping the menu in front of her.

"Kureha wait."

"Bye Haru." she said, her tone bearing no emotion as she hit the Logout button. Her avatar glowed orange as it disappeared, leaving the boy standing all by himself. He fell to his knees, his nerves making him lose the feeling in his legs.

"Shit...that went over well."

"You know...I was all for the subtle approach, but I think that just broke her mind." the voice of Leafa said, causing the boy to look up.

"Leafy?"

"Sorry, I saw you at the gun store and couldn't help but follow you."

"Ugh...dammit...I fucked up didn't I?"

"No...she just...probably...took it the wrong way." the girl said.

"Took it the wrong way?"

"Listen, when a boy kisses a girl out of the blue like that, it just confuses the hell out of them. Take it from me, a girl. If the guy that I liked kissed me and confessed right after, I'd want some time to process is it. Hell I'm surprised the system didn't boot her out due to her high heart rate, I could hear the beeping from here." she said, a playful grin on her face.

"Oh...god she's gonna hate me now."

"No she isn't...just give her time. Talk to her tomorrow and get a clear answer out of her, just don't force her into anything okay? I'm rooting for you slugger."

"Great, not you're starting to sound like Asuna."

"Sorry, I've been spending a lot of time with my future Sister-in-Law, it isn't my fault." the girl said.

"I...don't think I wanna log out right now...you wanna go for a flight or something?" he asked, reaching for his UFG.

"Sure why not? Liz and Silica logged out already so I have nothing better to do." she admitted. Haru nodded, wrapping his arm around the girl, taking aim at one of the tall buildings in Glocken.

" _God...I royally screwed the pooch didn't I? I just hope she isn't mad at me...I will admit, that expression was really cute."_

"Ahem...stop thinking about Kureha, I don't want you to drop me."

"Sorry Leafy."


	2. Chapter 2

SAO Alternative

Gun Gale Online: Fatal Bullet

Chapter 2

Halloween Jam _(Squad Jam)_

 _ **xxx(Real World)xxx**_

Kazuharu frowned as he lay on his bed. He was glancing at the ceiling, a frown upon his face. He was a young man of 18, with light black hair that fell down to his neck. He hale light pale skin and bright blue eyes, his body was a bit lanky, though with his sweater no one could ever tell. He would normally stand at about five feet nine inches in height, he was wearing a pair of black sweat pants on his lower body, along with white socks. It was the weekend, Halloween in fact, and he had nothing to do. His mother was off on business and his sister was staying at her friend's house. Well...he did have one thing to do, the Halloween Jam that was set to start at 5PM that afternoon.

He had been really excited for it, the first true event in Gun Gale Online that he was going to take part in. He had been considering entering the Bullet of Bullets which would be held later on that year. The Squad Jam would definitely be good practice for that. Everything had been flowing smoothly, of course that had been until he had put his foot in his mouth. The night before, he had decided to confess his feelings to his best friend Kureha. It hadn't been in the traditional way either, he had gone for it, and planted a kiss right on her lips. She hadn't given him a reply, and had just logged off. After an hour of flying around with Leafy, he had logged out and tried to message her. He knew she didn't just go to sleep after logging out of GGO, but all of his messages went unanswered.

He was scared that he had changed the relationship he had with his best friend. He cared deeply about her, and had been in love with her since he could remember. It wasn't until the age of 14 that he actually realized his feelings for his best friend. But since she lived in Okinawa and he in Tokyo, he couldn't exactly pop into her house and visit. When he had gotten his AmuSphere 2, he had been keen on selling it to the highest bidder. A lot of people would pay an arm and a leg for a console that wasn't out on the market yet. But she had convinced him to give GGO a try. He had fallen in love with it, the futuristic feel, the grit, the missions, the guns. It was all surreal. Whenever he had nothing to do, he'd pop into GGO and go on a hunt, kill some monsters, get some bounties, or hell just shoot his gun. It was thanks to Kureha he had been able to get a good start in the game.

Now that she wasn't talking to him, he felt like he had hurt her, and betrayed his friendship with her. He wanted to talk to her, but the only way he would do that would be before the Halloween Jam. There was one thing that he knew about Kureha, and it was that she didn't break her promises. She had shown interest in the Halloween Jam and she would be there. The question was, getting her to talk. Another thing about Kureha was that she was hard headed. It was her way or the high way, and if she decided to give him the cold shoulder, she damn well would. He'd probably have to fly to Okinawa just to get in physical contact with her. Of course that was provided he found out her address, which was damn near impossible to get out of her. He didn't know her older sister's phone number either, so he couldn't call her. It was a rather convoluted situation. He reached into his pocket for his phone, seeing it was 1:35PM, nearly an hour and a half before their meeting time. He nodded to himself, setting his phone on his night table.

"Might as well pop into GGO. I'm too damn distracted to stay out here doing nothing. I've already eaten, scheduled a pizza for after the Jam, it will be fine. I got MRE's in my inventory anyway." he mumbled to himself. He sat up, grabbing his headset, slipping it onto his head. He glanced over at the picture of himself and Momiji when they were young, both of them smiling brightly. He lay back on his bed, looking up at the ceiling, seeing the small Clock on the side of his vision.

"Well, here we go. Come magical spheres of color, Link Start!"

 _xxx_

"Are you sure you'll be fine by yourself dear? I could call your sister to keep you company."

"Mom, I'm a big girl. I'm sure I can handle myself just fine, I got candy for the kids, and plenty of snacks. Everything will be alright." Momiji said, giving her mother a firm look.

"Okay, if you say so. I left some money for you in my room, I don't want you eating those frozen dinners all the time. Your father will be back tomorrow afternoon okay? I hope you have a happy Halloween." the woman said, giving the girl a kiss on the cheek.

"Mom!"

"Hehe...you are so cute when you do that. You used to want kisses from me all the time when you were little."

"I was seven, I'm eighteen now...it's embarrassing." she said, rubbing her arm in embarrassment.

"You'll always be my little girl...I'm late, I'll see you on Monday. Try not to play that game of yours all night okay?" the woman said, slipping her heels on as she left the house. Momiji rolled her eyes, locking the door after her.

She glanced to her left, catching her reflection in the hallway mirror. She stood there, looking at herself, a frown on her face. Though she saw her avatar in her minds eye, she couldn't help but see the true her as well. Her eyes weren't blue, instead they were a dark shade of brown. Her hair wasn't pink, it was a light auburn color, though she still kept it in a side ponytail. She had fair colored skin, slightly pale from not going outside much. She had a decent frame, and slightly bigger assets than her sister, something she always held against her. She was wearing a long sleeved dark red shirt, a sleeveless white shirt underneath it. She was also wearing a pair of basketball shorts and white socks on her feet. She looked nothing like the trigger happy Kureha of Gun Gale Online. Well...she looked like her physically, but that was it.

She remembered all of the money she spent, trying to customize her avatar so it looked just like her. Some people would find that stupid, since you play VR games to get away from the real world. She however saw Gun Gale Online as another world she herself wanted to be in. It was a girl where her sister didn't exist, and she didn't have to worry about anything but what she herself could do. She felt different in that world, and she loved the thrill of the game. However, she also felt lonely because she didn't have any friends. She was known as the girl who kept changing squads. Every day she would be in a new squad, and that had given her both a good and bad reputation. Many squads didn't want her, because she would just leave. But starting squads sought her, because she could help them level up. It was something that she didn't mind.

Until her friend Kazuharu told her about him winning an AmuSphere, she didn't have anyone she could partner up with. That day was honestly the best one of her life. Being able to be with her friend again, teaching him how to play GGO, and for once feeling superior to him in something. That was until he started surpassing her. He had gotten lucky, having gotten a rare item in Hinata. That had made him popular in the game. Not just that, but even top players like Itsuki, Kirito and Asuna reached out to them. Zeliska had been another person interesting in Haru. She felt dwarfed by her friend, and it was really annoying. Though after a couple of months, Haru had made a small unofficial squad, with just him, Zeliska, Hinata and Kureha herself. It was his go to group. That didn't mean he still didn't pair up with others from time to time.

It was this group that he entered in the Halloween Squad, which she was already going to enter herself. That was when Haru had surprised her, and entered the squad. She remembered getting the notification, followed by a message from Zeliska. They had met up at 8Ball, started talking and played a set while they waited for Haru to show up. They went out for ammo, and then it happened. Her best friend confessed his feelings for her, by giving her a kiss.

She still remembered it, how sudden it had been. It had felt odd, she didn't even know what was happening until it was over. She was just out of it. Before she could say anything, she had opened her menu and logged out of the game. Upon returning to the real world, everything hit her at once. She just couldn't think straight after that. Even though it was already late at night, she shot to her feet, raced to the kitchen and downed an entire can of Monster. The jittering only made her feel worse, and now she couldn't sleep, meaning she had more time to keep replaying that moment in her mind. Even after the shower she took to calm herself down, she just lay in bed, her eyes tracing the small circles on her ceiling. She fell asleep at some point, but the first thought in her mind when she awoke was that kiss. Her expression changed to one of anger, a small growl leaving her mouth as she looked away from the mirror.

"Haru." she hissed, her hand tightening. She felt her fingernails digging into her palm, the slight pain pulling her out of her thoughts. She glanced at her hand, seeing a small dab of blood on one of her nails.

"Ugh...I told Yuri I hated French Tips. I wanna clip them but she'd be pissed at me." she mumbled, her thoughts drifting to her older sister. She had been on vacation from her school, and had come to visit. Like a stereotypical older sister, she took her little sister out, bought some clothes and gave her a makeover she didn't want.

She had spoken about her schooling, only making Momiji even more jealous. Once she had left, she had run up to her room and straight into Gun Gale Online. She needed to light some bastards up after the day she had spent. It had been a good waste of bullets, but she had felt good afterwards. She nodded to herself, heading toward the stairs. That was exactly what she needed, to light up a monster and forget about stupid Haru and his stupid kiss. She walked into her very pink room, grabbing her AmuSphere, placing it onto her head.

"Better put it on IDLE so they don't get a notification. Last thing I want is Haru messaging me to hang out. After last night, I don't want to see him yet, at least until the Halloween Jam." she mumbled to herself, sitting down on her bed. She grabbed her phone, going to her GGO account and turning it onto IDLE, when she logged in, her friends wouldn't get a message. She lay down on her bed, about to log in when a straight thought passed through her head.

" _He did have soft lips."_

"AAAHHH! LINK START!"

 _ **xxx(SBC Glocken)xxx**_

"Welcome back Master! I took care of a few errands for you!" Hinata said happily, greeting Haru with a bow. He shook his head a bit, glancing around his room.

"Oh...thanks Hinata."

"Master, is something wrong? I sense a change in your behavior, are you perhaps nervous about the Halloween Jam?" the Arfa-sys asked. He shook his head, frowning a bit as he looked away.

"No...it isn't about that. I uh...I made a goof."

"Made a goof? I do not understand Master." Hinata said, sounding a bit innocent. He chuckled, giving her a smile.

"It means I made a mistake. Last night I ended up confessing my feelings to Kureha. I actually ended up kissing her, and she must have taken it the wrong way. I've been trying to contact her all day but she hasn't answered me." he said. Hinata remained still, processing what the boy had said, before giving him a nod.

"I see...well Master, I believe Kureha is confused. Master did something that she wasn't expecting. Perhaps she felt overwhelmed, not just by your show of affection, but also from the harassment messages and even the Heart Rate monitor. I did sense an increase in her heart rate last night before she logged out."

"Oh...I forgot. Since you are my Arfa-sys, and you have Kureha listed as my superior, you can monitor her heart rate. I dunno...what do you think I should do Hina?" he asked softly. Hinata just gave him a smile, clasping her hands together.

"I think you should tell her how you feel. Truthfully, and show her every emotion you feel when she's around."

"Really? Have you been skimming the internet again?" he asked curiously, a small smile on his face.

"Whenever I need extra information, the internet is quite a useful tool. Though I only have partial access to it. Regardless, shall we go on a mission to pass the time Master?"

"Sure? Anything interesting?" he asked curiously. She nodded, opening her menu, in a flash two missions popped into his HUD.

"I saw these two earlier, and thought they were interesting. One is a Bounty Hunt, that's offering quite a lot of money as a reward. The other is a monster hunt, as always I'll let you pick." she said. He opened both of them, reading the Bounty Hunt one over.

" _Wanted: Gregory Star_

 _This man is highly dangerous. Thought to be operating from an abandoned area of the Old South. Those who manage to bring him down will be awarded with 10 Million Credits at the Governor Generals Office. Accept Bounty Hunt Y/N?"_

"Hmm...10 million is quite the boon. I did spend quite a lot on ammo...and it isn't that far from here. Alright Hinata, we're going on a hunt." he said, accepting the quest. It flashed away, the name _"Wanted Dead or Alive"_ appearing at the bottom of his HUD.

"This is gonna be interesting...come on Hinata, let's head down to the teleporter." Haru said, earning a nod from his Arfa-sys.

 _ **xxx(Old South)xxx**_

The Old South was an area of Gun Gale Online that consisted of an abandoned city. Haru didn't know exactly which one it was, but it was near the Solitary Sands area, which was near the ocean. He had been willing to bet it was the ruins of New York City, but Kureha didn't think so. The city was expansive, the buildings towering high above them, the windows long broken. Overturned cars lay in rusted heaps on the ground. Street signs and posts still stood, despite 1000 years of decay, some were rusted. To his surprise, there were street signs that still had legible names. The edges were worn and rusted, but the white paint was visible, pointing people toward different areas of the map. Downtown to the left, the factory district to the right and the stadium dead ahead. Haru found the Old South to be his favorite area, as it made it a lot more fun to go up against other players. Plenty of vantage points, areas of cover, hiding spots. It was no wonder more maps like this were being added soon.

"Alright, our target was spotted near the residential district. Be prepared to encounter heavy gunfire and artillery. It's going to be rough with just the two of us." Haru said, earning a nod from Hinata. He loaded a magazine into his rifle, pulling the bolt back and loading a round into the chamber. .338 Lapua, 400 grain...it was his preferred bullet caliber. He heard Hinata fiddling with her M14, unsheathing her bayonet.

He activated the earpiece he always wore on hunts, in case Hinata and him got separated. He gave her a nod and started running forward, ducking behind an overturned car. He looked around briefly, before moving toward a nearby building, pressing himself against the wall.

Even though they were on a mission, it didn't stop players from taking a crack at them. He had to be careful especially after completing the mission. Because if he got any drops, and then got killed, they would be left for those who pilfer his remains. Not just that, but Hinata was also in danger of being dropped. It wasn't a secret that he was rather famous in GGO, the noob player who was able to find a Type X. His story was still being told around Glocken. He frowned, thinking about Zeliska and Kureha, perhaps he should have sent them a message. He was sure Kureha would give him shit for not asking for back up.

"Master, there is a bit of a rise in your heart rate, are you perhaps thinking about Kureha again?"

"Not really...I'm thinking of what she would do if she finds out I'm out without back up again." he said.

"Hmm...that shouldn't be an issue. I sent a message to Zeliska before we left Glocken, she should be here momentarily." the girl said happily. Before he could say anything, a glowing circle flashed behind them, the Uncrowned Queen and her Arfa-sys Daisy walked out. He stiffened a bit, keeping his rifle aimed downward as the woman approached.

"I'm not certain if you are a fool or just have muddled thoughts Haru. Haven't we told you not to go out with just Hinata?" the woman asked firmly, flicking the safety off her assault rifle.

"Yes, but you are here with Daisy...so it doesn't matter." he said. The blonde haired Arfa-sys didn't say anything. She reached around her shoulder, pulling her AA-12 from around her back. She slipped a box magazine into it, pulling the slide back.

"I do not need help Haru, I am capable of taking care of myself. Master doesn't like when I fight, but I am quite capable." she said firmly.

"I can see that...anyway, I just took this mission to clear my head a bit. Get ready for the Halloween Jam later on today." he said, earning a nod from Zeliska.

She looked over her assault rifle, it was a lavender colored ACC Honey Badger. It was a small assault rifle, measuring about half the size of an M16A1. It had an M4 Upper, with a small muzzle break at the front, along with an ACOG scope attached to the top of it. It had an adjustable Magpul butt stock, with a black shoulder pad on it. Haru also noticed it had a pistol grip lower, along with a violet trigger. She looked up from her rifle, giving the boy a smile.

"Do you like what you see?"

"Yes...when did you get it?"

"This morning, I'm trying it out. A friend of mine let me borrow it, said that if I wanted to keep it I could. I'm sure you know what it is." Zeliska said, earning a nod from the boy. She held the rifle out to him, and he took a hold of it, looking it over.

"Advanced Armament Corp, Honey Badger. Chambered in .300 ACC Blackout, capable of launching .30 caliber rounds at the speed of an AR 15. I heard the ammunition is on par with 5.56mm rounds, and even outclasses the 7.32x39mm AK rounds as well." he said, peering through the scope. There was a green dot in the center, perfectly zeroed in.

"You are very well read aren't you? I'm quite impressed with your knowledge on this rifle."

"What can I say? I'm a huge fan of awesome firearms. You gotta know your shit in a game like this. Now, how about we get this mission on the way? We'll split the reward four ways." he said.

"Of course, let's see who can deliver the most rounds down range during this whole thing." Zeliska said, taking her rifle back. She pulled the loading rod back, a satisfying click cutting through the silence. Haru started moving first, pulling the safety off his rifle.

 _xxx_

" _Ugh...dammit...maybe I bit off more than I could chew with this one."_ Kureha thought, as she pressed herself against the wall. She was currently in the Old South area, near the residential district. She was fighting off a Cyborg that had gone out of control.

It was a large one at that, nearly twice the size of the usual bots that she fought. It had gunner drones flying around it as well, all of them being Mini-Gun Drones, along with some Pistol Drones and some Sniper Androids, hanging around the top parts of the nearby building. The machine was effectively covered. She sighed, seeing her Deneb Kaitos was currently out of ammunition. She had fired the last rocket at the Cyborg, in an attempt to destroy it. She quickly opened her menu, switching it out for a replacement firearm, An A.K. 47, a rifle that she had gotten from Haru. It had been a boss drop, and since he didn't use rifles, and Hinata had an M14, he figured she could put it to use. Zeliska already had one, so it only made sense. She switched her Kaitos ammo pouch for one filled with AK magazines. She grabbed one from within and slammed it into the receiver, pulling the loading rod.

"Alright you bastard, time to take down your cronies." she mumbled, running out from behind the building. She rose her rifle, taking aim at one of the Gunner Drones, a single spray finished it off. She shifted her arm, taking down the one near it. She ducked behind a car, bullet circles moving in all directions. She panted a bit a grin on her face.

" _This is the shit you live for Kureha. Nothing beats this kind of shit."_ she thought, reaching for a smoke grenade. She pulled the pin with her teeth, lobbing it over the car. The canister burst, a thick cloud of smoke obscuring the enemy's view of her. She ran to a nearby building, heading straight toward the stairs.

Once on the third floor, she kicked the door open, doing a quick sweep of the office she had gone in. Moved toward the broken windows, tipping over one of the nearby desks, using it as a shield of sorts. She rested the barrel of her rifle on the edge of it, peering through the iron sights. She took a deep breath, exhaling as she squeezed the trigger. Three bullets took down the remaining Pistol Drone, leaving nothing but the large Cyborg, currently loading missiles into its launchers. She fired the remainder of her 50 round magazine, flicking the rifle to the side, the empty magazine flew outward, a new one taking its place. It was almost instinctual to her now, drop a mag with a flick, load in a new one, pull the loading rod, shoot. It was methodical, something she got from how long she had spent slinging lead at enemies.

" _ **I saw her run in here, come on. We can take her down!"**_

" _ **I think I recognized her, that pinkie who hangs out with the guy that found that Type X!"**_

" _ **Heh...she's gonna make a good hit, that's for sure. Maybe we can have a bit of fun shooting her before stealing her gear."**_

" _Shit."_ Kureha hissed, shooting to her feet. She slid over a table, pulling it with her as she fell, tipping it over. The door burst open, and three players came in, all of them dressed in what looked like riot gear. One of them had a Spas 12, with a laser sight attached to it. The other two seemed to be carrying AR 15's though she couldn't tell from where she was.

" _Fucking perfect, here I am all alone with three Player Hunters. Heh...they think I'll let them get me that easy. They're in for a hell of a fight!"_ she thought, peeking over the metal desk. They were slowly approaching her end of the office, eyes looking all throughout the room.

" _ **Do you think she's in here?"**_

" _ **She has to be, this building only has four floors, and this one is the office floor. Besides look, shell casings...these take a few minutes to disappear...and they're recent."**_

Kureha smirked, reaching for her waist for the Concussion Grenade she had brought with her. It was her last one and she was going to make it count. She waited for them to get to the middle of the room before pulling the pin, rolling it toward the center. All three of them screamed, jumping back. A second later, the Concussion exploded, sending smoke and shrapnel in all directions.

"Gah...I'm hit, fuck. It tore into my leg!"

Kureha rapidly stood up, aiming her rifle at the fallen player, pulling the trigger back. He let out a surprised scream as his body was torn apart by her bullets. He burst into orange pixels, his gun falling uselessly to the ground. The pink haired girl jumped to the ground, bullets tearing the floor apart where she had once stood.

"Fuckin kill her! She doesn't leave this place alive!" the leader of the group shouted over the gunfire. Kureha rolled her eyes, slinging her AK over her shoulder. She reached for her MP5SFK, flicking the safety off. She checked to make sure the suppressor was on tightly before pulling the loading rod. She waited for their bullets to run out, before slowly standing up, leaning back into the post.

"You should come out honey, let us have some fun with you!"

"Come on man, that's not gonna make her come out."

Kureha started moving silently across the room, hoping to get behind the two players. She ended up stepping on some broken glass, causing the two to quickly take aim. Several bullet lines appeared on her body, causing her to dive to the ground. She knelt behind a filing cabinet, returning fire, she leaned into her Sub-Machine Gun, the recoil taking her aim off a bit.

" _Shit, Haru was right. The recoil makes my muzzle rise too much on full auto. Fuck, it can't stop firing now."_ she thought, an audible click filling the air. She ran toward the exit, the wall behind her exploding from the gunshots. She raced up the stairs, pulling the empty magazine from her gun, quickly exchanging it with a loaded one.

She spun on her heel, pulling the loading rod back just as the two appeared in the stairwell. She opened fire, the two young men shouting in surprise as they avoided the bullet lines.

"We gotta fight back, hurry and toss that damn thing!" one of them yelled loudly. Kureha's eyes widened when she saw an M67 grenade bounce off the wall. She grabbed it, throwing it back down with a second to spare. It exploded, taking a chunk of the wall, though she didn't stick around for it.

"Holy shit!" she cried, racing into the next floor. She ran straight across it, ducking behind a pillar. She pulled out the empty magazine, replacing it with a new one. She attached her MP5 to her holster, pulling her AK from her shoulder.

" _Okay, 27 rounds left in the magazine. Thank god the HUD actually tells you what's left in the mag. I'm not sure if that grenade killed any of them, I got real lucky."_ she thought to herself, placing the magazine in the receiver.

"Oi! You got my friend killed with that little stunt you pulled. I know who you are, Kureha. You're that pink haired bitch who hops from squad to squad. Best friends with that bastard noob who got the Type X." the last remaining player cried, entering the empty room. A few cubicle dividers remained standing, while others had been knocked down over the years.

"You know...I'm entering the Halloween Jam too. They just posted the squads that are entering, and what do you know. I just found out he made a new squad, the Young Bloods. I'm gonna have a lot of fun killing your little friend. If he drops that Type X, it's slim pickings for me."

" _What an unbearable prick. I'm going to enjoy this."_ Kureha thought, crouching down as she moved around a cubicle. She heard the player scan the area she had just been in. She rapidly stood up, firing at the boy, who quickly dove to the ground.

"Gah! You stupid little bitch!" he cried out, swiftly returning fire. Bullets whizzed by her head, the sounds of shell casings echoing through the floor. She gave out a small cry, a bullet piercing right through her arm. She clutched it hard, a bit of pixelated blood dripping from the wound.

" _Fuck...he must have penetrating rounds...this is gonna be harder than I thought."_ she thought. She grit her teeth, moving across the room, bullets tearing apart the dividers. She dove behind a pillar, pieces of concrete tearing it apart. She sat down behind it, popping the empty magazine off her gun, sliding a new one in. She grabbed a syringe from her med kit, stabbing it into her thigh. Her HP bar started filling back up, moving away from the Yellow and back into the Green.

" _I need to watch my HP, I didn't even notice I was near half."_ she thought. She peeked out from around the pillar, seeing the player several feet away. He opened fire on it, a grin on his face.

"Gotcha bitch! I'm gonna end you here!" he cried.

"I could really use Haru's UFG right about now." she mumbled, preparing to stand up. She saw a bullet line appear on her leg and tried to move, only for a pullet to fly through her knee. She fell to the ground, holding back a scream as she dragged herself into a cubicle. While she didn't feel pain, she still couldn't help but want to scream. It was just second nature.

"Fuck me, now I can't walk and that was my only Healing Kit." she growled, forcing herself to stand up. She leaned up against a table, peeking over the cubicle.

"You can hide sweetie, but I'll still find you! Look at you, running weak and scared. You are nothing without him aren't you? He's always providing cover fire, but now you're fucked!"

" _I don't need Haru's help! I can handle this dick head myself. I have before, he doesn't matter right now!"_ the pinkette shouted in her mind. She forced herself to stand up, limping out of the cubicle, which was filled with holes a second later. She dove behind a pillar, returning fire a second later. The windows exploded as the man dove to the ground. She quickly shifted her aim, the ground being torn apart by her bullets. One of them ricochet off a pipe, almost striking her in the face. She dropped the empty magazine, moving behind the cubicles, the pillar she was at before being shot full of holes.

"I'm getting sick of you! Eat this!" the boy cried, lobbing another grenade at her. Her eyes widened a bit as she dove into another cubicle. The grenade exploded, causing her to scream loudly from the noise. She pulled herself into a sitting position, eyes on her HP bar. She grit her teeth, watching it drop, stopping three points the red. She had several holes in her leg, her side bleeding a bit.

"I only got one shot at this. I'm so glad I bought that magazine." she said with a grin, reaching for her pouch. From it she pulled out a 100 round drum magazine. Haru had laughed when he found out she bought it, but now she was glad she did. She popped the sucker in, pulling the loading bar hard, the loud click filling her with glee.

She closed her eyes, focusing on her listening skills. She could hear the player slowly approaching her. He already knew where she was, so he was likely going to finish the job. She rose her rifle to her shoulder, forcing herself to stand up, despite her injured leg. She saw the top of his helmet moving right at her, a smile appearing on her lips as she slammed the trigger back, a battle cry leaving her lips. She kept her grip firm on the rifle, the loud buzzing echoing through the room as she continued holding down the trigger. Bullets tore apart the divider, hot lead flying in all directions as she continued to fire. Nearly a minute passed before Kureha heard the click, the barrel of her AK was smoking, the barrel almost orange from how hot it had gotten. She dropped the magazine, placing it in her pouch before loading a new one in.

She was about to continue firing when a familiar burst filled her ears. She sighed, the player had been taken care of. She sighed in anger and annoyance, wiping the sweat from her brow. She had been saving that 100 Round Magazine for the Cyborg, but now she didn't have it. Not only that, but she was in low HP without medical equipment and she was getting low on ammo. A frown appeared on her face as she looked at her leg, seeing all of the pixelated holes left behind by the Fragmentation Grenade.

"If Haru had been here, he would have taken those idiots out before I got hurt. Dammit, why am I thinking about that idiot?" she said out loud. She pushed herself to a standing position, angling her barrel down as she started limping out of the room, trying to avoid all of the spent shell casings.

Her thoughts were now on her best friend and Squad leader. If he had been with them, Hinata would have likely provided cover fire while he set up a shot. He would have likely taken out those players before they even entered the building, and if they did they wouldn't have stood a chance. Zeliska would have kept them back, while she herself snuck but and finished them off with a silent spray of bullets. If they survived, a single .308 Winchester round would find itself lodged in their skull. They would have gotten out without losing a single HP point. She hated to admit it, but Haru had become a fast learner and had become a good shooter. He qualified as a soldier in this world, being capable of directing his friends and successfully pulling out of tough situations.

She had grown jealous of her friend. At first she had been the veteran player, level 17 when he was level 1. Now she was level 43 while he was level 44. He had surpassed her in level and skill. She was mad at him...she was mad at him but despite that she was proud. She wouldn't lie to herself, she was glad that her best friend was able to surpass her so quickly. He had repaid her favor, going as far as getting her that rare outfit. She remembered that, when she put it on and the boy just looked at her.

It wasn't a look of perversion, it was a more loving look. Now that she thought about it, Kureha figured that was when he started looking at her as a woman. She hated to admit it, but she thought about Haru sometimes. Before playing GGO, she wanted to see how he was doing. See what he looked like now that he was 18. She had fond memories of them when they were little, but he was a man now, and she wanted to see him. She was going to be in his neck of the woods for a few days, and she was excited for it. But she chickened out at the last second. She choked it up to nerves, but now that she thought about it she realized what it was. She was nervous to meet him because she didn't want him to look at her differently. He had seen a little girl last time, and now he would be seeing a woman.

She was scared that he wouldn't recognize her. That she would have changed so much that he wouldn't call her his best friend anymore. That all changed with that kiss, the kiss that she hadn't stopped thinking about. She leaned up against the wall, resting against it for a bit, a gloved hand tracing her lips. She smiled a bit, imagining the scene in her mind. She was still stunned about it all, but she couldn't stop thinking it. How he had taken charge and just went fore it. She even found his nervousness kinda cute. She felt her cheeks heating up a bit, her hand tightening on her rifle's grip.

"I can't keep thinking about that idiot. I gotta get outta here, before some other Player Hunter comes after me. Goddammit, what a waste of ammo." she snapped angrily. She started walking down the stairs, her legs being functional now that her Battle Healing skill had fixed some of the damage.

" _I still can't believe he kissed me though...and it did feel nice. Haru isn't like some of the guys at my school. They only see me as eye candy. They think I'm a cam girl because I like playing video games, they don't even take me seriously. But Haru is different. He actually listens to me, talks to me about the games I like, he even agreed to play this with me. He's..."_ she paused when she reached an open street, finding some cover behind an overturned car. She looked around, heading toward the other side of the street, which would take her out of the city.

"Fuck...he's what I want in a boyfriend. Someone kind, and caring...and willing to play video games with me. But I can't...I don't want to ruin our friendship. He's too special...I don't want to lose him." she mumbled, rising her rifle to her shoulder. She fired at a few mechanical bees that were flying around the area, taking them down quickly.

" _I wanna kiss him again...just once."_

"No, bad thoughts! Kissing Haru will only make things worse!"

" _Why, he kissed you? Why not kiss him back? You love him don't you?"_

"I...I'm not sure if I do love him or not...I need some time." Kureha said out loud, glancing at her HUD, her eyes widened a bit as she realized it was 2:55PM.

"Shit...I was supposed to be back by 2:30! He's gonna be pissed at me...heh...let him be pissed. After what he did last night, he deserves a bit of coldness. Hmm...that might be a good idea, make him think I'm mad when I'm really not. That way the kiss will be that much better." she said, a grin on her face. She started running up the path, feeling rather giddy as she ran.

 _xxx_

"Zeliska, we have been compromised I repeat! We have been compromised!" Haru shouted, ducking behind some crates that were rapidly being shot at. He dropped his empty magazine, replacing it with a new one.

" _Copy that, move forward 33 meters, me and Daisy are waiting with more ammunition! Over!"_ the voice of Zeliska said through the radio.

"Copy that, converging on your position. Hinata I'll provide cover fire, you take those Charlies down any cost got it?"

"Yes Master, order has been received!" she replied, pulling the loading rod on her rifle. He rose his hand, three fingers being raised. He quietly lowered them, a signal for Hinata to start moving.

His bullet circle grew and shrunk wildly as he took aim at the NPCs, popping three bullets toward them. One man rose up, about to fire at Hinata, his head being blown apart by his .45 caliber round. The two of them continued moving forward, slinging lead at their enemies. One of them threw a grenade, which Haru quickly grabbed, lobbing it back. It exploded loudly, thankfully the crates blocked part of the shrapnel.

"Stairs to your left Master, go!" Hinata cried, once she had replaced her magazine. She flicked to fully auto, the hammer clicking loudly, sending streams of bullets flying forward. He dove down the stairs, almost falling down as he dove behind a metal container.

"Hey there captain, having fun?" Zeliska asked, a smile on her face as she stood over the boy.

"Not now Zeliska, our target disappeared. We gotta get outta here before the next wave comes...I'm all out of ammo for my Sig." he said, looking at his handgun, the slide locked back as he had used his last magazine.

"Worry not, we found an ammo crate with some nice toys inside. I believe we'll be perfectly fine." Daisy said, gesturing to the crate. She reached inside, handing Haru an M4A1 with a grenade launcher attachment, along with some magazines. He slipped one into the receiver, a smile on his face.

"I may prefer snipers, but hey this will do." he said. Daisy held out two pistols, flipping them around so that the handles were out. Hinata and Haru grabbed them, looking them over.

It was a HK P30L with a Compensator, chambered in .40 caliber. It was a sleek black pistol and one of the more expensive ones in game. He drew the magazine, being greeted by 15 bronze .40 caliber Federal Ammunition rounds. He slipped the magazine back into the receiver, pulling the slide back before slipping it into his holster, having returned his own gun to his inventory.

"I seriously hate that we can't keep these after the mission is over." he said, earning a giggle from Zeliska.

"Sorry, you'll have to buy these yourself. We're wasting time, let's move forward." she said, earning a nod from Haru. He pulled the loading rod of his M4 and started walking forward, slightly crouched down as he moved behind some of the buildings.

A bullet whizzed by his head, causing him to spin on his heel, pulling the trigger of his rifle. Several loud pops filled his ears, as he peered through the EoTech scope, the shooters hiding behind some crates.

"Quick, we got gunfire from the second floor. Throw a grenade up there!" he cried out. Daisy reached behind her back, pulling a frag grenade from her belt. She pulled the pin, throwing it hard. It exploded, killing the people that were shooting at them.

"Target spotted, he's trying to reach a convoy going down the next street! What's your call?" Zeliska asked, stopping at a crossroads. Haru saw some Armored Vehicles moving down the street, their .50 caliber guns being manned by men. He shook his head, pointing forward.

"This way, we'll get torn up if we keep going down." he said, quickly moving forward. He pressed himself against the building, holding his hand up. He waited for the group to move forward, giving them a nod. He started racing up the alley, finding half of the street blocked by wooden crates and abandoned weapons. There were several armed men on the street, all of them shooting at random.

"Wait until I'm in position!" Haru shouted, sliding behind a crate. He reached into his pocket for his last remaining grenade. He looked at Zeliska who gave him a nod, he threw the grenade over the crate, and as soon as it exploded, they opened fire.

He stood up, resting his rifle against his shoulder, firing off the last of his magazine. He went behind cover, exchanging it for a new one before returning fire. His eyes scanned the street, trying to find the target. He saw him running toward a fast food joint, a smirk appearing on his face. He grabbed a hold of a nearby RPG, along with an extra rocket and started moving toward the store.

"Haru, what are you doing?"

"We got him cornered, on my signal you converge on that burger joint. Hinata, on me!" he cried out. Hinata quickly changed magazines, following after the boy providing cover fire.

He knelt down, taking aim with the RPG, launching the rocket forward, the windows exploding from the explosion. He loaded the next rocket in, firing it as well. He heard loud barks, falling to the ground as an enemy attack dog pinned him to the ground. He reached for his P30L, killing the dog with a single round. He shot to his feet, rifle laying abandoned as he started running toward the burger joint. He slid over a police car, bullets banging against the metal as he hid behind it.

"Zeliska, converge on my location. We're about to blow this sucker away." he said.

" _Roger, moving toward the store now."_ the Uncrowned Queen said. The streets went a bit quiet as most of the armed men were taken down.

Once Hinata had appeared beside the boy, he gave her a nod. The two of them started running jumping through the broken windows. He drove to the round, ducking behind a booth as their target started firing at them.

"You aren't getting me alive you little shits!" the NPC shouted. He was located in the kitchen, and was firing through the order window, the tiles breaking apart with each bullet.

" _Fuck! Of course he had to take cover in the damn kitchen, no grenades...I gotta be careful. If we hit a gas line we could all fucking die."_

"Master, would you like me to provide cover fire?" Hinata asked. He glanced over to the counter, earning a nod from the girl.

"Shoot back at the window, I'll get to the counter and see if I can get inside the kitchen."

"Understood, go get him Master! I believe in you!" Hinata said, giving the boy a wink. She stood up slightly, still using the booth's wall as cover, she rose her rifle, firing a stream of bullets at the order window. Haru slid across the floor, using the cover fire to get closer to the kitchen. Hinata knelt down, exchanging her magazine, just as their target started returning fire.

" _Haru, we're at the parking lot, what do you want us to do? Over!"_

"Zeliska, I want you and Daisy to flank either side of the store, converge at the back door and prevent him from leaving. I'm approaching the kitchen. Do not let him escape, you have permission to use deadly force."

" _Haru, you are getting to into this mission."_ the voice of Daisy said, causing him to stop. He let out a chuckle, pressing himself against the counter.

"Sorry, I just love this kind of shit!"

" _So does Kureha, why didn't you invite her again?"_

"Ah...I'll explain later, mission first." he said, dismissing the question entirely. Haru slowly approached the door, just as Haru started returning fire. He dove through the kitchen door, his eyes landing on the target. He rose his gun, pulling the trigger twice, striking the NPC in the arm. He let out a cry of pain, shifting his aim toward the ground where Haru was laying.

The boy moved to the side, avoiding the hail of gunfire. The target ran after him, Haru stood up, taking a bullet to the side. He let out a shout, his hand clutching his side as he lay back against the wall. He rose his P30L up, pulling the trigger hard, hoping to injure the man. He ducked under a frilator, replacing his magazine.

" _Shit, that one shot took me down to the yellow. What the fuck is he firing at me? Tracers?"_ he thought, hitting the slide release of his gun. The man walked around the corner, aiming his rifle at him, a smirk on his face.

"I'm impressed, you took down my men and cornered me here like a rat. But I'm not dying today, say goodnight kid." he said, pulling the trigger of his gun. It clicked empty, causing him to go wide eyed.

"Goodnight!" Haru said, holding his pistol up. He pulled the trigger, a single .40 round pierced through the man's forehead, his brains spattering the back wall. His body fell uselessly to the ground, finally ending the mission.

"Ah...damn!" Haru shouted, panting a bit.

The congratulations banner appeared before him. He clicked on the notification, seeing he had gotten a drop too. His eyes widened when he saw the HK P30L he had been using had been added to his inventory. Not only that, his dual wield skill had also risen a bit. Now he could equip two pistols while having a sniper rifle. He grinned, hitting the equip button, a second holster appearing on his leg, this one belonging to his new pistol.

"Good job Master! You shot the target!" Hinata said happily, entering the kitchen. She held her hand out, helping the boy up.

"Yeah, but I was still shot."

"It doesn't matter Haru, you still did great, and you got to keep that pistol too." Zeliska said happily. She pulled out a medical syringe, stabbing it into his thigh. His eyes locked with his HP bar, seeing it rising to the green.

"Thanks Zeliska, I'll replace your med kits when we get back into town."

"Hmm...speaking of that, you do know it's past 3 right?" she asked, earning a confused look from the boy.

"What do you mean it's past 3? It's only 2:45." he said.

"Actually sir, it is currently 3:17PM. It's safe to say we lost track of time." Daisy said firmly. He glanced at his clock, seeing the Arfa-sys was in fact correct.

"Oh...oh shit...Kureha is gonna kick my ass!" he said, a look of worry on his face.

"Now now, I doubt Kureha will do that Master. She hasn't sent any angry messages yet." Hinata said. A second later, a loud beep came from Haru, an incoming message. He glared at his Arfa-sys, shaking his head.

"You just had to say message right?"

"Well...it isn't necessarily from Kureha right?" Zeliska asked. He clicked on it, seeing it was in fact from the pink haired girl. He looked up at Zeliska, lips pressed into a line.

"Ahem...Haru, get your fucking ass to Glocken right now. You asked me to be here at 3, and you aren't here yet. If you aren't here by 3:30 you'll have to find yourself another partner for the Halloween Jam. Hurry up." he read, earning a chuckle from the woman.

"Well...we got 13 minutes, we can make it."

"Actually, it's 3:20PM. From where we are, it will take us about 20 minutes to make it back to the teleporter. So we will in fact not make it before 3:40PM." Hinata said, causing Haru to just glare at her.

"Alright, here's what we'll do. There are some vehicles laying around from this mission. We'll take one and drive back, and since you were the smart ass, you get to drive." he said, giving Zeliska a smile.

"I was the smart ass?"

"You pointed out it was past 3. So yeah, you drive, come on...before whatever remains of this scumbag's crew moves in on us." Haru said, drawing his HK from his holster. It was the only gun he had left, and now he would have to get more ammo.

Even though he was slightly annoyed, he was at least happy that Kureha had messaged him. Perhaps he would get the chance to talk to her before the Halloween Jam started. Although, that thought process came to a halt when he realized exactly who he was dealing with. He sighed, a frown on his face as he continued walking out of the Parking Lot, already mentally prepared for the cold shoulder he was about to receive.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**

 **Hey everyone. Celestial here bringing you chapter 3 of this short story. The Halloween Jam will actually start in this chapter, and you'll get to see Haru and his squad go through the first levels of No Mercy from Left4Dead. It brings me back to when I first played this game and what a blast I had. Hell even to this day I play it on my PC and have it modded to high hell. Every time a new map gets made I always try it out, and it's hours of fun. The only game I could play for hours and not get bored of because it's always different. the idea of a VRMMORPG being created centered around Zombies, I think that would be awesome. It would also quench the thirst of those who might want a Zombie apocalypse. You get to play a game and try your luck surviving, so the world doesn't have to end. I'm working on Chapter 4 as we speak, and I'll be posting Chapter 5 on Halloween night, so I do hope you like this chapter. See you all later.**

SAO Alternative

Gun Gale Online: Fatal Bullet

Chapter 3

Halloween Jam _(Squad Jam)_

 _ **xxx(SBC Glocken)xxx**_

Haru didn't like silence. He always liked to talk about something, anything at all. Whether video games or a mission, he needed to talk. However he knew that right now wasn't the moment to talk. Thanks to his own mistake, Zeliska had arrived at Glocken at 4PM. Kureha had been waiting just outside of the apartment building, a look of annoyance on her face. He didn't even get a word out before she looked away from him. It was clear that she didn't want to talk. He told Hinata to go out and buy bullets for their guns, to replace everything they had spent. After all they had the money now and could afford to spend it. Now they all just sat in Haru's apartment, all of them being surrounded by empty magazines and boxes of bullets.

Haru had finished loading the extra magazines for his P30L and his Sig Saur rather quickly. Thanks to his new Dual Wielding skill, he had been able to equip both handguns, while also having a sniper rifle as a primary weapon. He had set both aside, preparing to clean them before the Halloween Jam begun. His Savage 110BA was on the long table beside him, several box magazines stacked neatly next to it. He was sitting on the couch, .338 Lapua rounds on his lap as he slowly loaded each magazine to capacity. Each magazine could hold 20 rounds, and he had 40 magazines, giving him 800 rounds of ammunition. He could have up to 1000 rounds for his Lapua with him, but didn't think he would need that much. He needed to purchase more magazines before he could, at least 10 more to have the 1000 rounds necessary. His Sig Saur P226 could hold up to 15 rounds a magazine, and he had 40 of those with him. Not just that, he had purchased 30 for his P30L, so he had plenty of handgun ammunition to go around. He would be set.

He glanced up from what he was doing, seeing Kureha silently loading up her magazines. The MP5 used the same 9mm ammunition as a regular handgun. It was cheap and each magazine could hold up to 50 rounds. So she had quite a lot of magazines to go through. She also had her A.K. 47 with her, the same rifle he had gotten from a boss drop not that long ago. He saw her slowly filling up her 100 round drum magazine, most likely having used it at some point. Zeliska had been in charge of not only her own weapons, but gadgets as well. They could only carry four grenades with them, so they only have 16 to go around. It was a typical preparedness party, where everyone was looking over their weapons, getting ready for war, except they usually talked and now the silence was starting to bother him.

"So...anyone got anything to talk about?" Zeliska asked, breaking the awkward silence. Haru said nothing, setting aside another loaded magazine. He grabbed the last one from the table and looked it over, before grabbing the last 20 a rounds in his hand, slowly slipping them into place.

"I have nothing to talk about." Kureha said firmly. She put the cap over her drum mag, twisting it a few times before setting it aside, grabbing one of the 50 round banana mags she had on the table.

"Perhaps we could discuss what happened last night between you and Master?" Hinata asked, causing Kureha to look up at the Arfa-sys.

"We will not discuss that, there is nothing to discuss."

"What is she talking about Haru?" Zeliska asked curiously, clearly confused about what Hinata was trying to say.

"Nothing...Hinata you won't talk about this alright?" he asked.

"Yes master." she said happily, returning to the gun cleaning she was doing. She had field stripped her M14, and was in the process of placing it back together. Haru finished what he was doing, standing up from his seat, popping his back.

"Well, time to clean my rifle. Kureha, would you like me to take a look at that A.K. for you?"

"No, I got it." she replied, not even looking at him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Haru! God, I can handle a simple cleaning!" she cried back. The boy rose his hands up, a hurt look on his face.

"Gee...I just wanted to help, no need to bite my head off." he said, silently walking over to his rifle. He sat down before it, pressing the mag release, pulling the loaded magazine from it. He pulled the bolt back, ejecting the loaded round, which he slipped back into the mag, setting it aside. He twisted the barrel off, before starting the long process of stripping his rifle down, starting with the scope and then with the inner workings of the rifle.

"Who said I ever needed help?"

"Kureha, you are acting a bit prissy today. I'm not certain what happened between you two, but I believe you should settle it. We are almost at the time limit for the Halloween Jam. There will be enemies shooting at us and we need to go in with a clear head." Zeliska said firmly. Kureha remained silent, as she grabbed a wire brush, proceeding to shove it in the barrel of her rifle.

Haru frowned as he looked at each part of his rifle. He cleaned what was needed to be cleaned, lubing up what needed to be lubed up. He started putting everything back together, making sure it was all in place. He had considered exchanging his .338 Lapua barrel for the .308 Winchester barrel, but figured the bigger punch of the Lapua would be better. He twisted it back into place, turning to the SLR Rifle scope he had set aside. He sighed, looking through it. It was a Vortex Viper HSLR rifle scope with a sun-shield. Rather than have a crosshairs, it had a mil-dot sight, which allowed for precise shooting. He could adjust elevation, windage and even the size of the reticle with it. He could even fire at night with it and still get an accurate shot, it had cost him 500,000 credits, the equivalent of 5,000 USD. It was still zeroed in to his specifications, though was sure to make changes for what was about to happen.

"Something wrong with your scope?" Zeliska asked.

"Not really...I'm just thinking about exchanging it for a thermal scope. I mean the bigger threat will be other players. Zombies don't show heat signatures, even if they are the "Infected" of Left4Dead. I'm not exactly sure what we'll be facing. Aside from the Special Infected, humans are the biggest threat."

"You want my opinion? Keep the Viper on your rifle, you'll need it for taking out farther enemies. Everyone will have assault rifles, shotguns, and things that will help disperse a crowd. You can easily pick them off while the rest of us provide cover fire." Kureha said, not bothering to look at the boy.

"I suppose that's true...Zeliska will you be bringing a shotgun to this party?" he asked.

"Indeed, I'll be borrowing Daisy's AA-12 for this tournament. But I shall also bring my assault rifle with me. Just remember, once you bring weapons in, you can't switch them for ones in your inventory. You'll have to conserve ammo and grab what you can in the ammo dumps. Guns dropped by survivors or left in safe rooms are still usable though." she said, earning a nod from the boy. He placed his scope back on, making sure it was firmly in place. He put the caps back on, once he was done cleaning the lenses.

"Nice...be sure to grab a melee weapon too. That'll help limit the use of bullets." he said, earning a nod from the silver haired girl. He grabbed his HK P30L from his holster, dropping the magazine. He pulled the slide back, the bullet still left in the chamber popping out, which he instantly caught. He hit the slide release, pulling off the Compensator, before hitting the slide button, pulling the top of the gun apart. Kureha looked up, eyes widening a bit at the handgun in his hand.

"What...what is that?" she asked. Haru looked up, a small smile on her face.

"This is a pistol I got as a reward from the Bounty Hunt I took. It's an HK P30L with a compensator, chambered in .40 caliber. It's a V1 too, so it doesn't have that annoying safety on the back." he said, turning back to the slide assembly, focusing on pulling each part out, grabbing the rag from beside him.

"When did you go on a Bounty Hunt? Why didn't you tell me?" she cried angrily.

"Sweetheart, you weren't logged in. How are we supposed to tell you? I messed you three times, and you didn't answer. If your phone number is tied to your account, you should have gotten the messages." the Uncrowned Queen said, earning a growl from the pinkette.

"It's as Zeliska said, I messaged you all morning but you didn't reply to me. If you had, we could have logged in and taken that mission together." Haru said with a shrug.

"Well I didn't want to talk to you."

"Before we go on, I have to know...what exactly happened between you two? Last night you were talking about your childhoods. You were excited about this Halloween Jam and now you're at each others throats."

"It's nothing Zeliska. You shouldn't worry about it, it's just something between me and Kureha." Haru said.

He finished cleaning his HK, putting it back together. He loaded slipped the magazine into it, pulling the slide back before placing it in his holster. He filled all of his ammunition pouches with various magazines. The two at his sides filled with ammo for his pistols while the one behind his back contained the ones for his sniper rifle. He grabbed the weapon from the table, slipping the nylon strap across his shoulder, the barrel pointing upward.

"Well, we have ten minutes before this begins. So I'm going to step outside so you can settle whatever it is. Meet me outside when you are done, let's go Hina...these two need their privacy."

"Huh? Oh...okay, if that's what master wants."

"I'll be down soon, go with Zeliska okay? Run checks on our gadgets and make sure your skills are up to date." he said. She nodded, giving him a wave as she walked out of the apartment, following Zeliska.

Haru remained silent, mostly because he was waiting for Kureha to slap him. However she didn't move. She finished loading the last of her banana magazines, slipping them into her right leg pouch. She placed one in the receiver of her rifle, pulling the loading rod back. She slung it around her shoulder, the barrel facing down. She grabbed her MP5SFK, looking at the silencer, and checking her flashlight attachment to make sure it was in working order. Once she was done, she slipped it into the special holster she had made for it, the Sub-Machine gun resting at her hip.

" _Great...she's ignoring me. Obviously she's mad about last night...god I was such a fucking idiot. I should just apologize and try to salvage whatever is left of our friendship."_ he thought, taking a deep breath.

"Um...Momiji?"

"What?" she hissed, glaring at the boy. He felt a shiver go down his spine, as he glanced away.

" _Dammit, her glare is so cute. No...that's exactly what got me here in the first place...just be cool, apologize to her and that's it."_

"I uh...I'm sorry okay? About last night...I realize that confessing to you like that, was wrong. I'm sure you are confused, most likely angry with me...but I just...don't want our friendship to be ruined."

"Too late for that don't you think?" she asked firmly. She crossed her arms, glaring at the boy.

"Do you know how embarrassing it is for your best friend to just kiss you out of the blue like that? In public, where hundreds of players could be seeing it?"

"Embarrassing? I...never thought about that." he said, glancing dejectedly at the ground, seeing the discarded boxes of ammunition, all of them empty.

"You never think about anything. Hell the only time you think about shit is when we're out on the field."

"That isn't true Momiji. Ever since I joined GGO, I've done nothing but think about you. Every single day, I look forward to the end of the school day. Because I know you and I can go shoot up some randy walking down the streets of the Old South. I've missed you for years, and I just couldn't help it. I'm not sure if you truly do look like this IRL, but that doesn't matter...you're my best friend and I love you." he said.

Kureha remained still, glancing away from the boy, her hands tightening slightly. She continued holding her elbows tightly, clenching her jaw as she tried her hardest to keep looking at the wall.

" _Oh my god...he actually said I love you to me. Haru you're so adorable! Wait...that isn't what your supposed to be thinking about! You're supposed to act cold, that way he loses hope then you can surprise him back! That's it!"_

"I appreciate the sentiment Haru, but sadly I can't return those feelings. We don't live near each other. I would never be able to go on dates with you. Besides you're my best friend, I can't help but remember all the times you sniffled as a kid. I just...can't see you as anything else." she said firmly.

"The distance isn't an issue. Besides we have GGO to hang out, at least until you graduate high school. You can just move back to Tokyo and we can go to college together."

"I'm not going to college Haru. I'm going to play GGO full time once I graduate high school. Even if I wanted too, I have no money for that stuff. You know my family only cares about my sister in the end. I doubt they even have money saved up for my tuition fees." Kureha said, sighing as she looked away.

"Goddamn it! Why do you have to bring Yuri into this? You always do that and it pisses me off. Do you not know how wonderful and beautiful you are Momiji? Who gives a shit that your sister is so much better and smarter at other things than you? She isn't a gamer like you, she isn't an awesome friend like you! She isn't my best friend, or the woman that I fell in love with. Why do you keep comparing yourself to her?" he snapped angrily. She turned to face him, her eyes burning with anger.

"You don't understand! Your sister is younger than you, so you don't understand what it's like to have someone like that. Someone who's better at everything than you. Someone who steals away all the attention from you. You will never understand how I feel!"

"Oh that's rich coming from you. At least you have an older sister that loves you, at least your parents aren't divorced! At least you can go home and have someone waiting for you. I'm always fucking alone, my sister stays at her school dorms and is only home on the weekends, sometimes. My mom is busy with her own work...the only thing I have that makes me happy is you! And GGO...that's it, I have nothing else!" he cried out. He panted a bit in anger, his heart rate rising a bit. He saw the warning flashing on his HUD, and took a deep breath to calm himself down. He looked at the floor, his fist shaking a bit from how hard he was clenching it.

"I should have just sold my AmuSphere...I should have just stayed home that day. Then I wouldn't be here...suffering even more. After this Jam is over, I'm quitting GGO." he said firmly, walking toward the door.

"What? You can't do that! What about Zeliska? What about Kirito and the others? What about the Flugel? Hinata?" she asked.

"I don't care, I'll just give my account to Kirito so that he can keep Hinata safe. I don't give a shit anymore. I payed my debts to you, but before I forget, there's one thing I have left." he said, opening his menu. He pulled out a Beretta M9, along with a silencer, the first weapon he had gotten in GGO. He placed it on the table, spinning around his heel.

"That gun belongs to you, thanks for everything but from here on out, we'll focus on the Jam. Then I'm done." he said, opening the door, slamming it after he left. Kureha felt her legs grow weak, dropping to her knees, eyes widened in surprise.

" _No Haru! I didn't mean to say that...why did I get so into it? Why the hell did I say that shit? Why?"_ she screamed in her mind. Her eyes drifted over to the table, seeing the gun he had left on it. She slowly stood up, grabbing a hold of the pistol, seeing the engraving on the barrel, her real name, Momiji, had been engraved in the metal, in a beautiful calligraphic script.

"He got the engraving skill just to write my name on a gun?" she mumbled to herself, clutching the gun tightly. She felt something warm trailing down her cheek, and reached a hand to her face, seeing it was a tear. Her eyes clouded over, tears falling freely from her eyes.

"Oh...I'm such an idiot! I hurt him and now he's going to quit GGO...I can't let him quit...I have to let him know how much I love him!" she cried, shoving the pistol behind her back. She grabbed a hold of the door, heading into the hallway. She started toward the stairs, only for her avatar to freeze.

" _ **Welcome one and all to the first annual Halloween Jam! All of the participants will now be transferred to the battlefield for the competition to start! Standby, because it's going to be one of the greatest Halloween Jams ever!"**_ the voice of the GM said, cutting throughout the speakers in Glocken. Kureha looked at her hands, seeing them slowly turning orange. Before she knew what was happening, she felt herself disappear.

 _ **xxx(No Mercy, Level 1: The Apartments)xxx**_

Haru rubbed his eyes a bit as the light from around him faded. He had been talking with Zeliska about something when he had been transported to the battle area for the Halloween Jam. He looked around for a brief moment, eyes widening in surprise.

Rather than some desolate land, he found himself on the rooftop of a very familiar building. The area was drenched with rainwater, the skies being dark and swirling with clouds. There was a table nearby, with a trap being tied to the roof nearby. It was made out of crimson bricks, the word letters S.O.S. Being written on the bricks. The same letters were found painted onto the floor. He started walking forward, reaching the edge of the building, looking down at the city scape below him. The streets were desolate, various police cars being parked all around, flashing lights of red and blue blinking rapidly. There were flaming barrels placed in various areas, keeping the alleys and streets lit up. The final thing that he saw in the distance was the tall building that was Mercy Hospital, the glowing green Cross being visible from all corners of the map, large search lights moving around from the top of the building.

He was standing at the edge of the apartment building in the first level of Left4Dead. It was just as he remembered it, the distant sirens, the light drizzling rain, the lights, the flames and most of all the undead. There were Infected walking around in various patterns, all of them growling at each other. He could see some locked into a fist fight, arms covered in blood. There were others vomiting like they often did in the game. He quickly walked away from the edge of the building, being careful as he did. He looked around, almost expecting a Hunter or a Smoker to be waiting for him to make a mistake.

"Well...Zaksir certainly outdid themselves." the voice of Zeliska said. She stopped next to Haru, her eyes glancing around the area. Hinata was looking around curiously too, her M14 already in her grasp. Kureha was leaning back against the table, her eyes on the brick wall instead of anywhere else.

"Yeah...everything is perfectly to scale. It's as if I have been literally dropped into Fairfield, Pennsylvania."

"You did dumb ass." Kureha said, earning a glare from the captain. He shook his head, swiping his left hand, opening the menu. He pulled up the Leaderboards, seeing all of the Squadrons that had been logged in.

"Oh boy...we got some stiff competition ahead of us. There are 20 squads, with varying numbers, seven of them have six, while the rest have five or four. The first scan will be in 14 minutes. Since we spawned here at the Apartments, I know exactly what route to take to reach Mercy Hospital. Our aim will be to reach the roof and call for rescue, but that isn't going to be easy." he said.

"I've never played Left4Dead, what can we expect ahead of us?" Zeliska asked curiously.

"No idea how you haven't played the game but. We'll be expecting hordes of regular infected. These former humans will attack in groups by punching and kicking survivors. They can run so be prepared for that. They won't be the big danger though. The Special Infected will be our bigger adversaries."

"Haru is right. We'll be dealing with Hunters, who can jump at you from anywhere and tear you apart with sharp claws. Smokers, who launch their tongues at you and constrict you to death. Boomers who'll puke on you, attracting more infected. Jockeys, who will jump on your back and lead you to zombies. Spitters, who fire globs of stomach acid, capable of melting your skin, Chargers who will grab you with their muscular arm and pound you into the ground until your just a piece of meat, and finally the Tank...who will destroy you without breaking a sweat." Kureha said, listing off the special infected.

"She's right, that's what we'll be facing off against, at least infected wise...the real danger are the other squads. I think they'll start picking each other off, trying to level the playing field. So we should focus on getting to the Hospital. We'll take down any and all players in our way, and take out anyone who tries to get to the roof of the hospital. Knowing the organizers, they aren't going to put anyone near the Hospital, and this city is supposed to be an in-game representation of Philadelphia. We've got this in the bag." Haru said happily, pulling his P226 from his waist, loading a round in the chamber.

"If that's it then let's go. Make sure you've got your radios in case we get separated. If we do, there's a safe house at the pawn shop, past the train station. We'll meet up there." Kureha said, pulling the safety off her MP5. Haru frowned, shaking his head a bit as he followed after her.

He held his gun up as he grabbed a hold of the door knob, slowly twisting it, pulling the door open. There was an infected at the bottom of the stairs, which Kureha took out with a single bullet. Haru gestured for Zeliska to walk inside, two loud pops filling the room. They all started moving forward into the first apartment, seeing blood and guts all over the floor, the two bodies of the deceased infected lay on the ground, holes blown out of their chests.

"I'm getting queasy." Hinata mumbled, glancing away from the bodies.

"Just don't look at it Hina, it'll be fine." Haru said reassuringly. He took the lead, searching around the room before moving to the next hall. He shot the nearby infected in the head, pressing himself against the wall, near the door that would lead downstairs.

"Zeliska, you and Kureha clear the next floor, me and Hina will cover you." he said.

"Understood." the older woman said. Kureha remained silent, not saying anything.

Haru opened the door, the two young woman raced down stairs, the sound of gunshots filling the empty apartment, along with the screams and shouts of infected. Haru quickly raced down, standing next to Kureha opening fire to the horde that had spawned.

"Reloading!" the pinkette cried, jumping back as Hinata took her place, the semi-automatic fire adding to the loud blasts from Zeliska's shotgun. They finished off the horde, the apartment becoming silent once more.

"Well...that certainly brings back memories." Haru said, hitting the mag release of his gun, replacing the spent magazine with a new one.

"Master look, I found a bottle of pills on the floor." Hinata said, holding it out to the boy. He smiled, giving her a pat on the head.

"Why don't you keep them? Those will raise your HP if you get low, but it's only temporary. Zeliska, Kureha have you found anything? Health packs perhaps?" he asked.

"Sorry, I haven't found anything." the pink haired girl said, not looking at the boy. Zeliska noticed this, a frown on her face. She figured something must have happened between them, but she wasn't going to bring it up.

"Apologies dear, I haven't found anything. We should keep going."

"Alright, Kureha you take point, I'll cover your six. You two bring up the rear." he said. Kureha wordlessly agreed, raising her MP5 to her shoulder as she walked forward.

They continued walking through the apartments, reaching a large hole in the floor, that lead down to the ground level. Kureha jumped down with ease, several soft gunshots filling the room as she took down the Infected that had gathered there. The others followed suit, moving toward the alleyway. Thunder rumbled above them as they came back outside, finally street side. As soon as they got to the bend, which would lead to the open street, a bullet circle appeared on Kureha's chest. Haru tackled her to the ground, the bullet striking the brick wall behind them. He grabbed a hold of her arm, pulling her across the way, both kneeling next to the dumpster.

"Shit. They probably heard our gunfire." he mumbled.

"What do we do?" Kureha asked quietly, earning an eye roll from the boy.

"We light them up. Cover me, I'm gonna move up to that dumpster, they're hiding near the police car. I can get them easy with a Frag." he said. She nodded, reaching for her A.K.

He took a deep breath, drawing his P30L from his hip making sure it was loaded. He heard voices at the end of the alleyway, approaching them. He smirked as he stood up, racing into the alley, holding his guns up. He lit the nearest player up, several bullets striking his body, taking him by surprise. He let out a scream, his body dropping to the ground, a Dead flag appearing over his head. He dove toward the Dumpster, which was being struck by projectiles, semi-automatic and automatic gunfire filling the quiet alleyway.

"Zeliska, I could use some assistance." the boy said, holding his hand over his ear.

" _Copy that Captain...I'll provide cover with Kureha."_ the woman's voice said.

The two young woman appeared in the alleyway, shooting at their attackers, who quickly pulled back. Haru raced forward, stopping in front of a rusted car that had been left abandoned next to the building, almost to the street. He started firing at the police car, using it as a distraction for the girls to move up. His guns locked back and he returned to his cover, dropping his empty magazines.

"Move in, move in. Kill these fucks before they can reload!" a player shouted, urging the others to move. Haru smirked as he reached for a Frag Grenade, pulling the pin from it, holding onto the spoon. He waited for a player to get close and rapidly stood up, shoving the grenade in his vest, pushing him back. He dove back behind the car, a loud explosion filling the area right after.

"Holy shit!"

"Kill that mother fucker!"

" _That was fucking awesome Haru!"_ Kureha said cheerfully. He smiled a bit, grabbing a hold of his pistols.

He stood up, opening fire on the players again, causing them to raise their rifles, returning fire. He quickly dodged it, using his Agility skills to avoid the gunfire. He managed to drive them back, allowing Zeliska and Kureha to move on. The Uncrowned Queen rose her AA-12, blasting apart the nearest player. Hinata and Kureha took down the remaining man, his body dropping to the ground. A loud howl filled their ears, causing them all to look up, seeing a large horde of Zombies racing at them. They all quickly reloaded, planting their feet firmly on the ground.

"Alright, Hinata, Kureha I want you to take the sides. Zeliska you and I are handling the bulk of this thing. I cover you when you gotta reload. We move forward and head to the train station!" he cried out.

"Understood!" the three women said, grinning as they prepared for the horde.

 _ **xxx**_

"Close that fucking door!" Haru shouted, running into the safe room. Kureha and Zeliska quickly pulled the door shut. Hinata grabbed the iron bar from the ground, placing it on the hooks, keeping the door firmly shut. The boy dropped to his knees, panting a bit as the zombies continued pounding the door.

"Holy shit...I didn't think we would get surprised by those two squads after taking out that horde." Kureha said, sitting down on a table, next to a wall. She grabbed a hold of one of the red First Aid Kids, pulling the medicine from inside. She sighed as her HP which was in the red, steadily rose to the green.

"We missed the scan. This is a Squad Jam after all, the scan only locates the Captain of each squadron. They must have seen Haru's location and quickly moved to it. It was just a shame that we got caught in the crossfire. At least that Spitter bailed us out of it." Zeliska said, moving toward the table. She tapped her finger on the pile of ammo, seeing the tab open which allowed her to refill on her shotgun shells, the magazines automatically reloaded. The others did the same, glad they had more ammo to play with.

"Alright, we made it to the train station. From here we gotta take the Red Line North to Mercy Hospital. Be prepared for the worst, we're gonna be moving through train tunnels filled with not just undead, but survivors as well. I'm sure there are more players hiding down there." Kureha said, flicking her flashlight on.

"Hinata, how much time until the next Satellite Scan?" Haru asked. The Arfa-sys closed her eyes for a moment, turning to face her master with a smile.

"9 minutes and 39 seconds, Master."

"Alright, let's catch our breath here and wait for the scan." he said.

"What if we lose ground?" Kureha asked curiously.

"We won't, right now people are prioritizing the elimination of other squads. If they all move to Mercy Hospital right now, they would only be met with heavy gunfire. I say we continue following the path we have, through the underground, through the Water Works facility and through the sewers, that is our best bet." the boy replied.

"Sewers? What do you mean sewers?" Zeliska asked. Kureha smirked, leaning forward in her seat.

"It's as you just heard, you'll have to walk through shit."

"Ew...are you serious?"

"She is I'm afraid...don't worry, I doubt they actually made it that real. The smell isn't gonna be too pleasant though...if they went that far. It'll probably sound nice and squishy." Haru said. Zeliska grimaced, walking toward the other side of the room, looking a little green.

"Uh...Zeliska, are you okay?" Hinata asked, following after the girl, leaving only Haru and Kureha. The boy glanced at the pinkette, shifting his gaze elsewhere. He pulled his rifle off his shoulder, knowing he would need it for the next area of the map.

"Haru...do you think we could talk?"

"Sure, as long as it's about the Jam." the boy said.

"It isn't...it's about...you know." the girl said, softer this time. He sighed, glancing away from her.

"I'm not changing my mind Momiji, after were done, I'm gone."

"I think you are making a mistake. You love GGO, you shouldn't leave because of what happened." she said.

"Normally I wouldn't, but the fact that I have to come back and see you here makes me not want to come back. I apologized for what I did, and I'm trying to move on. Just leave me alone." he said, walking toward the iron doors. He rose his gun to his shoulder, taking aim at the infected.

"Haru...I..."

He squeezed the trigger, the door rattling as the round was shot forward. The infected's head blew apart, a huge hole being left in the back wall. He ejected the shell, which fell to the ground with a dull clang. Zeliska and Hinata jumped a bit from the recoil, not having expected him to take a shot. He lined up the second shot, licking his lips a bit.

"Haru, maybe you shouldn't waste ammo right now." Zeliska said, though that went on deaf ears as he took another shot, the bullet pierced through the Infected's chest, blowing half of its chest apart.

"Oh...that's sick." he said, ejecting the spent shell.

"Kazuharu will you stop wasting ammo? You're going to attract other players to our location!" Kureha shouted angrily, causing the boy to stop. He slowly turned his head toward her, eyes narrowed.

"I thought we weren't supposed to use our real names in game."

"Oh shut up you! You've been calling me Momiji this entire time, if you're gonna be like that then I'll call you Kazuharu."

"Okay...what is going on? You two have been acting strangely all day. If this is going to hinder our participation in this Halloween Jam, then perhaps we should retire early." Zeliska said firmly. Haru was going to reply when a soft beep filled his ears. He reached into his pocket, activating his Map.

The holographic map appeared in his hand, showing him the entire lay out of Fairfield. There was a cross near the center of the map, which marked Mercy Hospital. There were several white dots scattered around the map, none of them being near the Hospital at all. He saw the Train Station on the map, seeing a dot that was bright red, his current location. He memorized the locations of everyone on the map, nodding to himself.

"There are two squads half a klick from the station. I also saw three in what looks to be the train tunnels. We're going to be moving through them and taking those fucks out. Gather your shit, we leave in a minute." he said firmly. He pulled the bar from the door, throwing it open as he walked outside, glad that there weren't any infected around him.

"Hinata, check on Haru for me, I have something to talk about with Kureha." Zeliska said, earning a nod from the blue haired girl, who left the safe room shortly after. She walked over to the pinkette, standing in front of her.

"Talk, why is Haru so mad all of a sudden?"

"This doesn't concern you Zeliska, just stay out of it."

"It does concern me, above anything else I am your friends. You are valuable people in my life, and I hate seeing you like this. So you tell me right now what is going on, or so help me I will shoot you. Friendly fire is allowed you know."

"He confessed to me last night." she said, glancing away from the older woman.

"I'm sorry?"

"Haru...he told me he loved me last night. He gave me a kiss and I reacted poorly. We talked about it before the Jam and I said something I shouldn't have. Now he's mad at me and he's planning on leaving GGO after the Jam is over." she said. Zeliska remained silent, not knowing what to say. Before she knew it, she rose her hand, slapping the pinkette across the face.

"You are a bitch you know that?"

"Ow...okay will you at least let me fucking finish?" she cried, rubbing her cheek.

"I honestly don't care for your explanation. I'm sure I got the gist of it, you compared to yourself to your sister again. That pissed him off and you said whatever popped in your head. God, you have such an inferiority complex. Here comes a guy who genuinely cares for you, and you have your head so far up your ass that you yell at him."

"You don't understand what I am going through! I didn't mean to say anything like that. I was playing hard to get, giving him a bit of the cold shoulder. I was going to tell him I loved him back at the end of the Jam, but my mouth started running. Don't you see I'm suffering from this too? My best friend hates me now."

"Like I said...you are a dumb ass. Playing hard to get? Really? I get that you are in high school, but goddammit Kureha. I doubt you are going to change his mind you know." Zeliska said firmly.

"Hey ladies, you done in there? We gotta fuckin move!" Haru shouted, his voice filled with urgency. Zeliska grabbed her shotgun, pulling the loading rod, loading a shell into the chamber.

"You and I, aren't done talking. Go, I'll watch your ass." she said, pushing the girl forward. She sighed, holding her A.K. up as she left the safe room.

 _ **xxx(No Mercy, Level 2: The Subway)xxx**_

Thanks to Haru clearing out the infected, they didn't have many issues getting into the station. They walked down the stairs, noticing all of the blood and guts splattered all over the ground. There were a few infected, which Hinata and Kureha took care of with a small burst of gunfire. Haru moved toward to a nearby table, noticing an abandoned M16. He slung his rifle to his shoulder, grabbing a hold of it. It looked like a military issue rifle. It came with 410 rounds, in 60 round magazines.

"Find anything else?" Kureha asked, he remained silent for a moment, glancing inside the ticket booth.

"Pipe bomb, you take it." he said, loading one of the magazines into the rifle, he pulled the loading rod, continuing toward the platform.

Haru scanned the area for a second, keeping his rifle tightly against his shoulder. He didn't have a fancy scope to use, just a regular iron sight, but his accuracy was still very good. After all he practiced with a heavy sniper rifle, and even without the scope he could still targets. The platform was strangely quiet, the train cars that had crashed into each other were in place, lights flickering on and off from the damaged electronics. There were two flaming barrels within the platform, providing a decent amount of light. He glanced over his shoulder at the rest of his squad, giving them a small nod. He started walking forward, stepping into the train car.

He bashed a nearby infected with the butt of his rifle, not bothering to waste any ammo on it. Kureha slipped past him, taking down the second infected. Three more ran at her, and she switched to full auto, a soft spray dropping the three. Haru gave her a silent nod, brushing past her again, reaching the last car. The door had been kicked down, revealing the tunnel, another train having crashed not far from where they were. The walls were covered in blood, a few bodies having been chewed apart by infected. He slowly walked forward, hearing a low growl, making him stop.

"There's a Hunter, watch out." he said softly. Kureha stiffened a bit, gulping slightly as she rose her MP5.

Haru took a step forward, the loud screeching of the Hunter filling his ears. He looked around for a second before getting tackled. The Hunter was a medium sized infected, with powerful legs, and sharp claws. It was wearing a gray hoodie, the hood being pulled over its head, its jaws covered in blood. It had taped its pant legs and arms to its body, to reduce the drag of flying through the air. It started digging its claws into Haru's chest, pixelated blood flying in all directions. The boy tried pushing the infected off his body, seeing his HP steadily dropping, until it reached the Yellow. Kureha grabbed the Infected's hood, pulling it off her partner. Zeliska lit it up, before it could even do anything, a soft whimper filled the tunnel, before its body became still, falling uselessly to the ground.

"You okay?" Kureha asked, holding her hand out to Haru. He brushed her away, reaching for his pistol. He quickly rose it, pulling the trigger several times in a row, a low rumble filled the tunnel, followed by a loud explosion. Bits of flesh and blood splattered on the ground, the bottom end of an obese infected having rolled into view. Haru let out a sigh, glancing at his Sig, the slide of which had locked when he fired his last bullet.

"I'm fuckin' lit, thanks for asking." Haru said, grabbing Kureha's hand, pulling himself to his feet. He glanced at his HUD, seeing the HP bar was three points below the yellow.

"That was certainly a surprise...you best be careful from now on." Zeliska said.

"Here's your rifle, Master! Excellent shooting!" Hinata said happily, handing him his M16. He gratefully took it, replacing the spent magazine on his Sig before placing it back in his holster.

"The tunnel opens up in a few meters, let's be careful and vigilant." he said, once again taking the lead.

He cleared the next platform, jumping up to it and around the end of the destroyed train car. There was a huge hole in the wall, the front end of a flaming car having burst through what was once the platform's entrance. There was an empty table placed up against the train car, most likely placed there by the Military when they had gone through the tunnel. They continued walking forward, only for Haru to quickly crouch, several bullet lines appearing above his body. He growled angrily, looking around for signs of the shooters.

The next area of the tunnels were filled with empty rails, creating a large space. Normally it was an exchange line where trains would move onto the main lines. But since the trains had crashed into each other, the rails had been blocked, leaving the large area to traverse. There were several wide posts where people could hide. Normally, he would have kept walking forward, taking out the infected that lay nearby, but the Players had taken them out and laid an ambush. He didn't know how many people there were, but they were heavily armed. Getting through this wasn't going to be easy.

"I got this." Zeliska said, placing her AA-12 around her shoulder. She pulled out her Honey Badger instead, loading a round in the chamber. She reached for her waist, pulling out a red and black canister she had brought with her. Kureha looked at it, eyes widening a bit.

"A Flash grenade?"

"Mhmm...fire when ready." she said with a wink.

"Alright Zeliska, now we're talking! Hinata you're on point with me, Kureha cover us. We need to get to the first post and use it as cover, once we do we'll have better aim." he said, earning nods from the girls. Zeliska pulled the pin on her grenade, throwing it into the tunnel. They all covered their ears as it exploded, a loud buzzing echoing through the tunnels, causing the players to scream.

Haru quickly rose to his feet, running forward as he took aim at the first player. He sprayed him down with a swift burst of bullets, quickly shifting his aim toward the next player, opening fire on him. He ducked behind cover, avoiding all of his bullets which quickly filled the wall. The gunfire was echoing through the tunnels, bouncing around and causing everyone to lose a bit of their focus. Haru dropped his empty magazine, slamming a new one in, just in time to avoid a hail of gunfire coming from another player. Several loud shotgun blasts filled the tunnel, causing a few people to scream from how loud it was. Haru grabbed a hold of Hinata's arm, pulling her behind the first pillar. Kureha and Zeliska had hidden behind one of the overturned train cars. The tunnel fell into silence, the last of the shell casings falling quietly to the floor.

" _Shit...now what? I wasn't expecting heavy resistance like this. Short bursts of gunfire aren't going to help me, and I didn't pack any flash grenades. That being said, if someone throws a grenade over here, we're totally screwed."_ Haru thought, glancing at his HP. He felt Hinata tugging on his sleeve, making him look up.

"Master...I sense a strong enemy nearby." she whispered in his ear. She pointed toward the other end of the tunnel, where the next area of the stage was. He handed her his M16, reaching for his Savage 110BA. he popped the caps off the scope, holding it up to his shoulder. He peered through one of the windows of the train, seeing what looked to be a large muscular arm, moving slightly.

" _A muscular arm? Fair colored skin, bulging blood vessels...holy shit...I know exactly what that is. This is the perfect distraction...everyone will have to focus on that and we'll be able to slip those fucks a new one. Alright here we go."_ he said, resting his finger on the trigger.

"Alright, come on...these fucks are hiding. Let's hurry and take them out, then we move onto Mercy."

"Pfft...yeah right. We agreed to help you this one time, but how do we know you aren't gonna shoot us in the back once we leave here?"

"You can trust me. If we get there and activate the event at the same time, both of our squads will be Number 1, besides we're all friends here. We gotta team up, two of our mates are dead."

Haru smirked slightly, licking his lower lip as he took a deep breath. He slowly squeezed the trigger, the action of the gun filling the silence, followed by the boom of the recoil, the muzzle break sending gas through the holes in the sides. It sounded almost like a crack of thunder on a silent stormy night, the round striking the muscular arm of the infected that lay in hiding. It let out a huge roar, the ground shaking as it started towards the one that shot it.

"What the fuck is that?"

"Holy shit! Shoot it, shoot it, shoot it!"

"Kureha, Zeliska let's move!" Haru shouted, running into the tunnel. He ejected the spent around, slinging his rifle his shoulder as he took a hold of his M16. Zeliska and Kureha quickly joined up with the two, ducking behind a pillar as the Tank threw a piece of concrete at them.

"What is that thing?" Zeliska asked, eyes wide as she dodged a punch from the giant infected.

"That Zeliska is a Tank, an infected practically hyped up on Infected Juice. It'll kill you in four hits so make sure not to get near it!" Kureha cried back, trying to avoid being punched by the creature.

"Easy for you to say!"

Haru quickly turned around, taking aim at the Super Infected, emptying his entire magazine into its arm. He dropped it and replaced it with a new one, repeating the process. The Tank let out a roar, slamming its muscular fists into the ground, grabbing a huge piece of concrete which it flung at the boy, who ducked out of the way just in time. He heard Hinata's scream, seeing her being flung back into the train, her body falling to the ground.

"Hinata!"

"Hey! Over here buddy, I got you!" Kureha cried, her AK firmly on her shoulder. The other players started aiming at the Tank, filling its back with lead, the creature being confused on who it should attack. Haru helped Hinata up, the girl being near death.

"Take those pills, it'll raise your HP for a bit." he said.

"Okay, Master." she replied weakly, pulling the cap off the bottle, dumping the pills in her mouth. Her HP steadily rose to the yellow, though every ten seconds she was losing one HP point.

"Haru! I need back up here!" Kureha cried, firing off the last of her magazine. Haru quickly moved forward, crying loudly as he got up close to the Tank, the muzzle of his M16 flashing brightly. Round after round, each one being sent right into the Tank's face. It let out a weak cry, it's legs giving out as it was finally defeated. Haru's gun clicked empty, the boy stumbling back, reaching for a magazine, only to find that he had run out of ammo for his rifle. Three Bullet Lines appeared on his chest, making him look up.

"Hehe...you're shit outta luck kiddo."

"Hey...I know you, you're the kid with the Type X. Hurry up and shoot him boss, if he dies his Squad is out. Meaning we get their items." the other said.

"I want to kill the pink haired girl, that bitch took out my bro in the Old South today." the third player said. Three loud blasts filled the tunnel, followed by the dull clinging of spent shell casings. Zeliska let out a giggle as she watched the three players fall stunned to the ground.

"I spent my points unlocking the Stun Bullet skill. You boys have been rather naughty."

"Oh shit...the Uncrowned Queen!"

"What's she doing here?"

"Haru...you do the honors." the woman said, giving the boy a smile. He pulled out his Sig Saur, racking a bullet into the chamber.

"Requiescat in Pace." he said, a grin on his face as he fired a single round through their heads, the Dead markers appearing over their avatars. He looked around the field, seeing several more avatars laying on the ground.

"Sheesh...the playing field was certainly leveled." he said, turning around. Just as he stepped into the train, a loud screeching howl boomed through the tunnel, followed by footsteps.

"Fucking shit! Another horde!" Kureha cried out, quickly reloading her rifle.

"Let's move!" Haru shouted, breaking into a spring, drawing his P30L from his holster. As soon as he left the train car, he aimed at the infected, killing it instantly. He shifted his aim toward the only door in the room, which was being broken by the pounding of the Common Infected, who started pouring into the train tunnel by the dozen.

Several tense moments passed, filled with nothing but screaming Infected and loud gunfire. The crowd started thinning out after awhile, the pile of bodies appearing at their feet. Haru's guns clicked back, and he took a step back, allowing Hinata to finish off the horde with her M14. Everyone panted a bit, looking tired after finishing off the horde.

"Well...that was fun." the boy said, dropping his spent magazines. He quickly changed them, hitting the slide release on his pistols.

"You're definition of fun and mine clearly differ." Zeliska muttered, frowning a bit. She had used all of her shotgun shells, only being left with her Honey Badger. Hinata was in a similar state, her M14 being out of ammo, remaining only with her Benelli M4 Super 90.

"I think Valve made this a little too realistic." Kureha said, sighing as she patted her nearly empty ammo pouch. She only have four banana magazines left, along with her 100 round drum mag.

"We still have a ways to go before reaching the pawn shop. The next area is going to be hard. Kureha, I want you to take the Mini-Gun when we get up there, we'll do our best to cover you until that grate is up. We move into the offices and hurry to the pawn shop, got it?" Haru said.

"I think Zeliska should be on the Mini-Gun, she wasn't doing that well during that horde. All she has to do is hold it down and shoot, I can cover you better." the pinkette said. He glared at her for a moment, before giving her a nod.

"Fine, Zeliska you'll have to keep the crowd off us, it's very simple. Hinata, you'll be watching her back."

"Understood Master!"

"Right, let's go." he said, jumping up onto the platform. He helped the girls up, walking up the stairs toward the next floor.

They scanned the empty room, thankfully it was free of infected and sneaky players. They all paused when Haru's scanner started beeping. He pulled it out of his pocket, holding it up as the satellite passed over the map. An hour had passed by now, and from the starting squads, only around twelve remained. However those twelve contained between 4-6 players, so there were quite a lot of survivors to deal with. He noticed two of the squads being a klick away from Mercy Hospital, perhaps wanting to reach it.

"They're starting to move in. Mercy is filled with infected, that'll thin out the competition a bit. That means we gotta haul ass through the Factory District and get into those sewers. Let's get it done people." Haru said, earning smiles of encouragement from the girls.

 _ **xxx**_

"Fuck! It just had to be set to realism didn't it?" Haru shouted angrily, pressing himself up against a vain.

Bullets were whizzing past him, his arm glowing brightly from a bullet wound. Hinata was kneeling behind a blue mail box, clutching her shotgun tightly. Zeliska and Kureha were both pressed up against a police car. Two squads had gotten the drop on them as soon as they walked out of the building. Haru had managed to take out two players, leaving them with ten to deal with. His Sig had run out of ammo, and he was down to his P30L. He reached for a new magazine, slipping it into the receiver, his eye glancing at the ammo counter at the corner of his HUD.

" _60 rounds left...gotta make them count."_

"Haru! We gotta get Hinata up there, she's the only one who can stop them now." Kureha cried.

"Yeah, you still got that drum?" he asked, earning a nod from her.

"What's your plan?" Zeliska asked curiously. He reached behind his pocket, pulling out two Concussion Grenades. She gave him a small smile.

"Let's make this shit count!" he said, sliding up the side of he van until he was standing.

He pulled the pins from both grenades with this teeth, holding the spoons down. Hinata was peering over the mailbox, holding her hand up, three fingers raised. The gunfire stopped, the players being forced to reload. She gave him a nod and he ran around the van, running straight down the street. He dropped both grenades to the sides, behind the areas of cover the players had been using, sliding underneath a UPS truck. The grenades exploded, various screams filling the air.

"Take this!" Kureha shouted.

She started walking forward, holding the trigger of her AK back as she opened fire, sweeping the street with her drum mag. Haru crawled out from under the truck, quickly standing up, shooting another player in the head. He saw a bullet line on his shoulder and jumped forward, aiming at the man. It was almost slow motion for the boy, as he squeezed the trigger, his head snapping back. He spun around again, two more shots took down a third. He tilted his gun a bit, firing three more times, dropping another player. He shot at another, a young woman who had taken aim at him with her shotgun. His gun's slide snapped back, and he dropped to the ground, behind an overturned car.

"That was fucking tight." he murmured to himself, reloading his weapon. He cringed a bit as his car was riddled with buck shot. The lights exploded, the hood of the car getting a hole blown through it. The young woman cocked the gun, firing another round at the boy, piercing through the engine block, almost hitting him.

"Jesus...what is she shooting? Buck shouldn't do that?!" he cried out, seeing the size of the hole. He figured she must have been using some slugs as well. He smirked as he knelt in front of the hole, placing the barrel of his gun at the edge of it. He popped three rounds, all of them hitting the girl in the chest. Her body fell, unmoving from the shots.

"God if this wasn't a video game, that definitely wouldn't have worked." he said.

"Are you finished?" Zeliska asked, loading the last magazine she had on her. Kureha was holding her AK up, the rifle trailing a bit of smoke form how hot it had gotten.

"Yeah, she was the last one. Let's go." he said, walking around the car. When he did, he felt something wrapping around his midsection. He glanced down, noticing it was a long, pinkish blue tongue. He let out a cry of surprise as he was pulled off his feet, and dragged across the street, toward a nearby building.

"Shoot the tongue! Christ shoot the tongue!" he cried, as he was being hauled off the ground. He struggled to move, the appendage constricting around his body. Kureha looked around, trying to find something to use. She noticed Haru's Savage 110BA on the ground, and quickly grabbed it, pulling the bolt back, ejecting the spent shell.

"Kureha, what are you doing? Do you even know how to shoot that?" Zeliska asked, trying her hardest not to riddle her leader with bullets. Each one of them kept missing their mark. She remained silent, her eye closed as she looked for the Infected responsible, a Smoker who was at the edge of the building.

"Gotcha." she said, pulling the trigger back. She let out a little scream from the recoil, the bullet hitting home. The Smoker burst into a cloud of green smoke, his body falling to the ground. Haru let out a cry, struggling to breathe as he unwrapped the tongue from his body.

"FUCK!" he shouted, coughing slightly from the musky green gas that burst from around the Smoker. Kureha held her hand out to him, which he gladly took.

"Weren't expecting that eh?" she asked. He took his rifle back, slinging it over his shoulder.

"Next time, use your Sub-Machine Gun, I have three HP points left." he said, limping toward the Pawn Shop.

"Hey, I just saved your life you know!" the pinkette cried.

"And I am grateful, just be a little faster next time."

"God, I can't believe you! I'm not a trained sniper, be lucky I got it in one shot!"

"Children, now is not the time for your argument. If you wish to take care of business, then let's do it from a safe place." Zeliska said, earning a glare from the two teenagers. Hinata grabbed a hold of Haru, resting his weight on her body.

"Don't worry Master! I don't detect any players around us, the Safe room should have all necessary medical kits."

"Thanks Hina, let's hurry up then. I don't wanna take a bullet to the dome out here." he said. They approached the pawn shop, walking through the broken window. Kureha and Zeliska quickly cleared the showroom, pausing for Haru who had let go of Hinata.

"Uh...what are you doing?" Kureha asked. He pulled out his Pistol, holding it up. He took aim at a red Sedan, which had the alarm activated. He pulled the trigger, a single round striking the side of it, causing the alarm to start blaring. A loud screech filled the area, the alarm having alerted a horde.

"You mother fucker! You used to do this shit all the time! I fucking hate you!" Kureha said, causing the boy to laugh.

"Sorry sweetie, couldn't help myself." he said, blowing a raspberry at her as he walked into the safe room. The three girls dove in, with Hinata closing the door, right before the horde could get in.

"Ugh...that sucked." Zeliska muttered dryly. She tossed a Health Kit to Hinata, who quickly walked over to Haru, using it on the boy. Seconds later, he was back to Green HP. Everyone healed up, taking the time to refill their spent ammo stores.

"What now?" Kureha asked.

"Hinata, how much time before the next scan?"

"3 minutes, give or take a few seconds." she said.

"Good, let's catch our breath. I wasn't expecting those two six man squads waiting for us. Guess everyone is trying to kill me for Hinata. That means we gotta be careful. Not to mention, we haven't run into Leafy or Kirito yet. They're most likely going to be our hardest adversaries." Haru said.

"Not looking forward to that, especially because Kirito, Asuna, Leafa and Yuuki are capable of deflecting bullets." Kureha said, taking the time to reload her rifle.

"We'll be just fine. We managed to refill our stores and got our grenades back. We have to bide our time, and figure out where they are. Knowing Kirito, he's most likely close to Mercy Hospital. We might even have a gunfight inside the place." Zeliska said.

"Great, as if fighting zombies wasn't bad enough. We gotta worry about the hordes, Special Infected and the Black Gunman as well." Haru muttered.

"It'll be alright Master! We got this in the bag!" Hinata said happily. He chuckled, ruffling her hair.

"Yes we do...yes we do." he said. His gaze shifted over to Kureha, who was looking directly at him. Though her expression was neutral, her eyes told him everything. She was worried, because they were nearing the end of the Jam.

He frowned, glancing away from her. He was trying to focus on the Jam, but it was beginning to get hard. He couldn't not focus on the pinkette. The way she handled that AK was amazing, how excited she got when someone got up close. Not to mention, she handled his sniper rifle expertly, despite never firing it. There was nothing more attractive than a woman who fired a Savage 110. The way her hair moved, how she ran, and admittedly, how jiggly she got whenever she was firing her rifle. These small things were making him fall more in love with her, despite her rejection. He turned away from her fully, walking toward the back wall, where a map of Fairfield was tacked. He pretended to look at it, if only to hide the flush on his face.

" _ **Goddamn it Haru! She rejected you, why the hell are you still in love with her?"**_

" _I can't not be in love with her...she's Kureha. She has that charm about her that just makes her that much more attractive. Not to mention she looks good with a rifle. I'd really like to see her without that vest though."_

" _ **No...you can't have those thoughts. She doesn't love you back, you just gotta focus on this Jam and get out of here. Sever all ties, she's a lost cause for you."**_

" _No she isn't...maybe I can convince her. I'm not leaving GGO without that at least. I shot to convince her. I want her...I want her in my life, I want her by my side. More than anything...I've missed her so much already. For seven years we didn't speak, she's more than just my best friend now."_

" _ **Seven years huh? I remember the last full day we had. We were at the school roof, watching the sunset. She looked so sad, but we promised to always be friends. I hadn't seen her cry that hard in my entire time knowing her. I'd like to see the sunset with her again...just like that one time."**_

"Haru...are you alright?" Zeliska asked, causing the boy to look up.

"Yeah...just looking at this map. Our location is relatively close to Mercy Hospital. However since squads are dropping left and right, I fear we may meet resistance. I have an idea on how to halt passage through this area, but it's gonna raise hell. Not to mention we have to stop people from getting into the sewers." he said firmly.

"How are you planning on doing that Master?" Hinata asked curiously. He smirked, reaching behind his back for something he had found. After leaving the tunnel, they all went through what looked like a Military Post, and in order to raise the grate they had to activate the power, which caused several infected to run at them. He had found something that had been left behind there.

"Is that a blast charge? When did you get that?" Kureha asked curiously.

"Back at the station. It isn't just a blast charge either, it's a Claymore. As soon as someone walks by it, it will explode. I'm gonna place it right under the sewer cap, so when someone hops down, boom! The whole floor will cave in." he said.

"You are insane." Zeliska said.

"Hey...this is GGO. Just because were running through a Left4Dead campaign doesn't mean it's not GGO anymore. I just wish it was a Bouncing Betty, those would have better. Four of them right around the sewer cap, two near the entrance just in case...would have taken out any threats." he said.

"But they aren't...though this will help us a lot. Nice thinking Haru." Kureha said, quickly looking away from him. She gave him a bit of a smile, making his heart quicken a bit.

"Thanks Kureha...let's just wait for that scan and then we can move out. Get ready, the next parts are going to be hell." he said, earning nods from the three ladies.

It was going to be rather hard to get through the next area unscathed. They would more than likely run out of ammo again. They had been looking for Melee weapons. But Haru remembered that the first game didn't have any, so there were none to use. Sure he could have picked up a piece of pipe, but that would lose durability after awhile. He walked toward the other side of the safe room, peering through the door at a few infected outside. He nodded to himself, a grin on his face.

" _I'm having a blast already...why not continue to enjoy this for the rest of the night?"_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:**

 **Sorry for not posting this sooner. I've been rather busy lately, not just with Morning Hope Academy, but with some other things in my life. I am working on Chapter 5 and will get it out as soon as I can. This week has been quite hectic for me, and I just have no time for a few things. I do hope you like this chapter. This may not be my best work, but eh I don't care. I'm just writing this for fun, and cuz I get really bored sometimes and end up getting weird ideas, so hey why not write them down eh? Anyway, I hope you all had a Happy Halloween, we can now begin Preparing for the Holiday season...oh man...2018 flew by huh?**

SAO Alternative

Gun Gale Online: Fatal Bullet

Chapter 4

Halloween Jam _(Squad Jam)_

 _ **xxx(No Mercy, Level 3: The Sewers)xxx**_

Haru stared at the holographic map in his hand. The scan had already started, and was displaying 10 white dots on it. All of the dots were starting to get closer to Mercy Hospital. There were four dots that were near their location, which happened to be near the Burger Tank, a fast food chain in the Left4Dead series. That meant that they were all starting to head toward Mercy Hospital, as half of the squads had been eliminated. Though ten squads remained, there were still a lot of players to deal with, and their exact number wasn't known. It was rather worrying, but they had dealt with many squads before, so they would have to keep their heads down and get ready for up close combat.

Having memorized all of their locations, Haru pocketed his map, giving a nod to the others. He grabbed his Savage 110, loading a fresh magazine into the receiver. He pulled the bolt back, the sound of the rifle's action making him smile. He gave Hinata a nod, and she opened the door. He walked out, peeking out into the abandoned alleyway, the door to Burger Tank lay open, two Infected being visible from where he was standing. He walked forward, resting his gun on the hood of a car, leaning forward as he rested the stock against his shoulder.

"Hinata, what's the wind speed?" he asked.

"We currently have a minor wind coming from the west. 4 miles an hour." she replied softly. He adjusted his scope a bit, a few clicks filling the air.

"Haru, can't we just get up close?" Kureha asked.

"Sure...but what's the fun in that?" he asked, not bothering to look back. He closed his eye, lining up the shot. He waited for a moment, for the Infected to walk forward a few steps, one of them crossing the path of the other. His lips curved into a smirk as he pulled the trigger, their heads exploding as the round flew through them, striking the back wall.

"Nice...you'll surely get points for that." Zeliska said.

"Maybe...hey look, a video feed." he said, looking up. He saw a floating circle above them that had the word, REC written on it. He gave the camera a smile, waving at the onlookers. Kureha shook her head, walking ahead instead of greeting the camera.

"Looks like it's following us. You know...if they wanted to make it look more realistic, why didn't they add a drone in the game?" he asked curiously.

"Because people tended to shoot the drones down. The beta version of GGO had them. Some asshole kept shooting them and the programmers didn't like it." the Uncrowned Queen said, pressing herself against the wall, her Honey Badger in her hands.

"Wait...were you in the beta?" Haru asked curiously.

"Sadly no, but I do have a friend who was." she replied. Haru nodded, walking into the kitchen of the fast food joint, scanning the area for players and infected.

"We're clear, move up." he called back, lowering his pistol as he walked into the restaurant.

Kureha followed up behind him, glancing through the windows. The area past the Burger Tank was a UPS sorting facility. It had eight meter fences, keeping the area closed in, just past them was the open street, the flashing lights of police cars being visible. There were several cargo trucks in the lot, the brick building being dark and ominous from where they stood. There were some flaming barrels nearby, as the entire lot had no lights. She looked up at the sky, Mercy Hospital was very close now, the search lights on the 30th floor filled the skies with light. She saw a small blinking light high above them, the rescue chopper they were supposed to call. She let out a surprised scream as an infected slammed into the glass, not hard enough to break it. She growled, rising her MP5, delivering a single shot to its head, the glass splintering as she did.

"Seriously? If that window fully broke that sound could have alerted more." Haru scolded, earning a glare from the girl.

"I got mad, what do you want me to do?"

"Whatever, I usually shatter it too." he said, kicking the glass door open. It swung open, the glass shattering and falling to the ground.

"So much for staying quiet." Zeliska said, earning a giggle from Hinata, who walked out behind her.

The lot was rather empty, save for a few Infected that were walking around. Haru rose his Sig, firing at the nearest Infected, its body falling down with a thump. He shifted his aim, taking down a second and a third. Kureha did the same, not wanting to waist ammo, she just bashed their heads in with the stock of her AK, chunky red blood flying through the air. There were several flaming barrels lighting up the dark area, a large wall nearby had been blown out, piles of bricks and cinder blocks laying on the ground. Haru had always wondered what had done that, but figured a Tank must have burst through it. He eyed the Gas Pumps, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Alright, we have to get up on that lift, walk across the roof to that window and climb in. It's gonna attract a horde though so be ready." he said, shrugging off his Sniper, aiming the barrel down.

"Seems simple enough...what was your idea on blocking the path though?" Zeliska asked curiously.

"It's easy...once we're up here, I'll just shoot the hydraulic fluid lines. It's a scissor lift, without that fluid it won't work." he said.

"That's pretty smart, do you always think ahead or is it because you've always wanted to do something like this?"

"I'll let you decide that on your own, Kureha." Haru replied, his voice sounding a bit firm. He jumped up onto the lift, helping the girls onto it. After they were on, Kureha pressed the red button, causing the lift to slowly start moving up. A loud gargle of voices filled the air, causing the group of four to grab their weapons tightly. As soon as they reached the roof, the Infected started running at them, all of them trying to climb up.

"Move across the roof, I've got this." Haru said, placing his feet firmly on the ground. He held his rifle up, lining his sights with the gas pump. Zeliska lowered her rifle, pulling the empty magazine out, glancing at the boy. Her eyes widened when she saw where his muzzle was pointing.

"Haru...what the hell are you doing?"

A loud bang cut through the sounds of the horde, the bullet striking the gas pump. It rapidly burst into flames, which started to rise higher. Haru ejected the shell casing, rapidly taking aim, this time hitting the bottom part of the pump, causing gasoline to start pouring out of the lines, which immediately caught flames. He ejected the round, shifting his muzzle toward the incoming horde, firing through the chest of the first infected, the four bodies behind it dropping into a pile behind the first. He lowered his rifle, urging the girls to round.

"Goddamn it Haru!" Kureha shouted, just as the gas pumps exploded. The shock of the explosion knocked them down, they all watched as the awning shot high into the air, breaking apart before it came crashing down, crushing some of the Infected that were coming right at them. Haru quickly turned around, pulling his side arms, opening fire on the incoming horde, tucking himself in the corner of the building. He flicked his wrists, ejecting the magazines quickly replacing them with new ones.

"Master are you alright?" Hinata asked, standing next to the boy. She drove her bayonet into an Infected's jaw, kicking the body back with all her strength.

"I'm fine, that was bad ass! Keep it up!" he said, quickly standing up as he continued firing.

"Haru, Hinata! Get your asses up here, we'll cover you!" Kureha cried out over Zeliska's gunfire.

"Copy that! Let's go Hina!" he said, pushing the girl forward. They jumped onto the pipe, shimming across it slowly. The boy slipped due to his shoes being wet, but quickly caught himself. He jumped up, crawling into the building, holding his hand out to Hinata, pulling her up as well.

"Anyone got a light?" Zeliska asked, holding a bottle of Jack Daniels in her hand. Kureha nodded, not lowering her rifle.

"In my pouch, on the left. Just grab it while I keep bringing these fucks down." she said.

Haru gulped a bit as he walked toward the pinkette, reaching into her ammo pouch. He fiddled around for a second, finding the silver lighter tucked inside, tossing it to Zeliska who flicked it open. The rag caught fire immediately, she grinned as she wound her arm back, throwing it full force across the roof. It shattered, the alcohol catching fire, setting the infected aflame. Kureha bumped fists with the girl, a grin on her face.

"That was tight, where did you get it?"

"I picked it up over there. Guess someone dropped it." she said, pointing to the hole in the corner of the room.

"Good eye, now to bring down that scissor lift." Haru said, raising his rifle to his shoulder.

"Haru, think I could take it?" Kureha asked curiously. He glanced at her, seeing the hopeful look on her face. It was rather odd, but he knew he wouldn't be able to deny her. He nodded, handing her the rifle, which she gingerly rose to her shoulder. He kept the barrel straight, fixing her posture a bit.

"Hinata, what's our wind speed?"

"There's a slight wind from the west, it hasn't changed direction. The speed has actually decreased to 2 kilometers." the AI replied, earning a nod from the boy.

"Alright, the wind will carry the bullet. You see those black cables? That's the hydraulic line, a single shot will suffice." he said. She gave him a nod, closing her eye as she peered through the scope. She pulled the trigger, a dull click filling her ears.

"What the? Is the safety on?"

"Pfft...no. This rifle doesn't have a safety, it's a sniper rifle...you didn't chamber a round in." he said. The girl flushed, her hand grabbing the bolt, pulling it back. The shell casing popped out, landing on the ground with a dull metallic thud.

"Take a deep breath, and just squeeze the trigger." he said. Kureha followed his instruction, steadying her breathing a bit. She slowly squeezed the trigger, the rifle jolting back slightly. The bullet struck the line perfectly, causing the lift to fall down with a slam.

"Nice, I thought she was gonna miss." Zeliska said, lowering her telescope.

"You have little faith in me Zeliska." the pinkette said, handing her rifle back to Haru, who ejected the shell casing.

"Little known fact, whenever we played Call of Duty, Kureha would always be the sniper. She was pretty good too, always No Scoping those fools. Hell, I remember that one time, she ended up killing me with a Tomahawk, she banked it off the building and it flew right into my head." he said, holding back his laughs.

"Pfft...yeah, but you got revenge on me. You killed me with an RCXD right to the nuts." she said, a grin on her face. The two shared a laugh, looking at each other. Haru cleared his throat, heading toward the hole, looking into the room.

"We should keep going, it isn't too far now." he said, causing the pinkette to nod sadly.

Haru jumped down first, shooting the only Infected inside. He walked over to the First Aid box, popping it open. Four bottles of pills rested inside. He took one of them, tossing them to Zeliska who caught them with ease. He grabbed one for himself, placing it in his pocket.

"Grabbin' Peelz." Kureha said, grabbing a hold of the final bottle. Haru let out a chuckle, brushing past her into the next hall.

"I remember you saying that a lot when we were in the chat. I think you also played that goddamned song when we played C.O.D." he said.

"Yep, I remember that. Grabbin' Pills, Grabbin' Pills, Louis! Good thing I'm indestructible."

"I feel so out of the loop right now." Zeliska said, looking a bit deflated.

"If my memory serves, I believe those are lines from the original characters of Left4Dead, specifically, Louis and Francis." Hinata replied.

"Yeah...however I didn't hear it often. I modded my game to shit, so I had custom voices and stuff. Watch out, the next area will be the loading bay. We'll need to be careful around the forklift."

"Why is that Haru?"

"Because the goddamn Tanks always fling it at me." he said, laughing a bit as he walked down the stairs. The entrance to the warehouse was clear of anyone, living or dead. He gave the girls a nod, and started walking forward. He paused, holding a fist up to stop his squad from moving. He pressed himself against one of the shelving units, kneeling down next to a wooden crate. He heard something rolling across the floor, his eyes widening in shock.

"Grenade, get down!" he cried, running back. They dove behind some crates as the grenade exploded, seconds after bullets struck the walls around them.

"It's an ambush! What do we do Master?" Hinata cried out, a look of fear on her face.

"We fire back, duh. I'm borrowing this." he said taking Zeliska's Honey Badger, a grin on his face. He knelt down, breaking into a sprint toward one of the shelving units, avoiding the red bullet lines aimed at him.

"Haru, take it!" Kureha cried out, tossing a Flash Bang at the boy. He caught it with ease, pulling the pin and rolling it down the aisle. The canister exploded, and the violet haired boy moved forward.

He let out a short burst at the first Player, taking him down with ease. He quickly shifted his aim, peering through the scope, lining up his targets. The gun clicked empty and he lowered it quickly drawing his handgun, finishing the player off, before ducking behind another crate. He panted a bit, sweat pouring down his face. He could feel his heart beating in his chest, this feeling was exhilarating. He could understand why it was the Kureha loved closed quarters fights so much. He cringed a bit, the crate he was hiding behind being riddled with bullets.

"You fuckers! I'm gonna kill you all!" a player shouted, keen on avenging his fallen friends.

"Haru."

The boy glanced up, noticing Zeliska at the edge of the other aisle, crouched behind a crate. She tossed a magazine across the way to him, which he easily caught. He exchanged it with the empty one, shoving it in his back pocket as he pulled the loading rod. He held a finger to his lips, earning a nod from the Uncrowned Queen, who made sure her AA-12 was loaded. He noticed her exchanging the 8 round box with a 20 round drum mag, getting ready for the fight.

"I don't hear them Frank."

"Me either...they might have moved on."

"Doubt it, we would have seen them right? They're in here."

"Oh boys." the voice of Kureha said, causing the three young men to turn around. She was standing at the other side of the room, giving the boys a wave, her MP5SFK in her grasp. They all quickly rose their guns, taking aim on the girl who jumped for cover.

The next few seconds were filled with rapid gunfire, accompanied by loud shotgun blasts. It didn't take a lot of ammo to bring down the remaining members of the squadron that had ambushed them. They both lowered their guns, grinning happily at their accomplishment. Haru held out a fist, bumping it with Zeliska's.

"Nice job Master! You handled that splendidly!" Hinata said.

"Thanks Hinata, and thank you Zeliska, I surely would have died without your rifle." he said, holding the firearm out to its owner, who grabbed it from his hand.

"You're welcome Haru, we're a squad. We gotta watch each others backs, the distraction was Kureha's idea you know." she said, glancing at the pinkette who was busy looking her gun over.

"It was nothing, this genius probably dove in there without a back up plan. Once again I had to bail you out."

"Dah...don't give me that...come on let's move on." Haru said, once again taking the lead. He couldn't help but smile when he saw Kureha's grin.

He lead his group outside, scanning the fenced area, leading toward the next area of the map. He ducked down, avoiding the steam that was pouring out of the nearby pipe. They arrived at a stairwell, which lead them down toward the water processing plant. He stopped at the top, reaching for his Sniper rifle, loading a round into the chamber.

"Remember the plan, we gotta place that bomb on the underside of that cap." he said.

"Yes, we remember. Me and Hinata will cover the rear, you two are on point." Zeliska said, a playful smirk on her face. Kureha looked at her oddly, but said nothing as she followed Haru down the stairs.

He reached the foot of the stairs, the remains of a police officer laying back on the floor, his entrails being ripped out of his chest cavity. He noticed an M1911 on the floor beside hi. He knelt down before the body, taking a hold of the gun, checking the body for more ammo, finding four spare magazines, each containing 15 .45 caliber bullets. He handed it to Hinata, who lacked a pistol for herself. She looked it over, giving Haru a thankful smile before tucking it into her waist, placing the four magazines in her stockings.

Entering the facility, Haru noticed the large white tanks placed in rows in this large room. As soon as he set foot in however, the screech of a horde caused him to stop. His eyes were wide as they started pouring out of the other room, rapidly filling up the processing area. He grabbed a hold of Kureha's arm, pulling her with him.

"Start firing!" he said, pulling his rifle over his shoulder. Kureha started mowing down the horde, waiting for the boy to pull out his pistols.

"Kureha, Haru! We've been cut off!" Zeliska shouted over the gunfire.

"There's another entrance nearby, wait until the crowd thins and go for it. We'll be waiting in the service room within the sewers!" Haru cried out, walking toward the nearby cap, he pulled it open, enough for him and Kureha to wedge in.

"Haru I'm out!" the pinkette cried. The boy moved forward taking over while she reloaded. The sheer number of zombies was unimaginable.

"Hey Kureha, you still have that Pipe Bomb?" he called out, pushing an infected back. The slide of his Sig locked back, making him grit his teeth.

"Already ahead of you Haru!" she cried out. She lit the fuse of the bomb, pressing the button before throwing it forward, at the corner of the room. Half of the horde went after the bomb, giving them the time they needed to get into the sewers.

Haru let out a small cry as the bomb exploded, making him stumble off the pipes below. He landed on the ground hard, the air exploding out of his lungs. He clutched his back, groaning a bit as he lost his sight for a few moments, seeing nothing but stars. His vision cleared up a bit, and he saw a few infected, moving toward him, sloshing through the human waste in the ditch beside him. He rose his gun, pulling the trigger only to remember it was empty. He grabbed a hold of his P30L, pulling the trigger once before it locked, having fired the last round in the mag.

"Goddamn it!" he shouted. Before the infected could start kicking him, a soft buzz filled his ears, the bullets tearing apart the bodies. Kureha jumped from above, holding her hand out to the boy.

"Sheesh, I thought you had reloaded."

"Kinda hard to when you have a horde on your ass." he said, helping himself up. He dug into his ammo pouches, finding only four magazines left for both of his pistols.

"Great...almost outta ammo again."

"There should be a dump in that room you mentioned. I'll take the lead, my rifle still has most of its ammo." she said, earning a nod from the boy.

He remained silent while the girl took point. He was rather amazed with her skills with a rifle. She was able to take down the Infected before they even noticed her. The two of them walked down into the excrement, following the path toward one of the side entrances. They crouched down slightly, aiming their flashlights in the path.

"Well...at least they didn't add the shit stink into the game." he said, glad that all he could smell was wet dirt.

"Yeah...that wouldn't have been good. I dunno if you can puke in VR, but I clearly don't want to find out." Kureha mused, keeping her eyes forward. They appeared down another path, both looking around for a second. They took down the nearby zombies which were wading through the waste.

"If I remember correctly, it's this way." he said, taking a left. He walked next to an entrance. A loud cackle filled his ears, his eyes widening as a Jockey jumped through, trying to jump onto his back. He fell back, landing in the waste.

"Gah! Haru, get it off me! It's digging its claws into my neck!" Kureha shouted, causing the boy to rapidly stand up.

He saw the pink haired girl trying her hardest to shake the creature off her back. It was controlling her movements, digging its sharpened bloody claws into her neck. He grabbed her discarded rifle, running toward her, slamming the stock into it, knocking it right off onto the ground. He quickly rose it, emptying the remainder of the magazine into its back. It gave a whimper, falling into the mounds of shit around them. Both of them panted a bit, the boy clearing his throat as he handed her the AK back.

"I uh...thanks."

"Sure...you got that Smoker off me." he said. They started walking forward, finding the correct path. Shortly after, they found the booth they had been looking for. They ran toward it, diving through the door, the violet haired boy closed it, locking it right after.

"This isn't going to hold." Kureha said softly.

"It'll have too. We need to meet up with Zeliska and Hinata, or else we might lose them." he said, walking toward the large wooden spool in the center of the room. He smiled a bit when he saw a pile of ammo on it. He tapped it with a finger, instantly refilling his ammunition.

"Shit...not health kits...I took my pills earlier too." Kureha muttered, a look of annoyance on her face. Haru reached for his pocket, pulling out his pills, rattling the bottle a bit.

"Who's your best friend?" he asked, holding the bottle up. Kureha sighed, looking away from him.

"I thought we weren't friends anymore."

"I thought so too...but then I remembered the fun we had as kids. Do you actually think I was looking at that map back there for fun? I know Left4Dead like the back of my hand, I don't need a bloody map to get around. I'm not leaving GGO, well...not forever at least." he said.

"What made you change your mind?"

"Well...I did promise to go pro with you. It doesn't matter that you don't like me back. You'll still be my friend...I can't hate you." he said, tossing her the bottle, which she caught with a single hand. She looked at the bottle, glancing at her HP. If she took it now, by the time Zeliska and Hinata returned, it would have dropped back. Pills only restored temporary HP after all. She looked up at Haru, who was busy looking at the leaderboards, taking count of the people who had already been eliminated.

"Haru...I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked curiously. She placed the pills on the table, closing the distance between them.

"For what I said at the apartment...back in Glocken I mean. I'm sorry for yelling at you. You're right, I do have an inferiority complex...I've always seen myself as inferior to my sister. It wasn't always like that, whenever I was playing with you, I just forgot about it. It's why I love video games so much. Because she's not here."

"It's alright Kureha, I know that you believe yourself to be inferior to Yuri. But you have to remember, you may see yourself as inferior, but not everyone else does. There are so many things that make you, well you. Like the fact you love games, and are willing to try anything. How you love to shoot guns for fun, love lighting up monsters out on the fields and enjoy close quarters combat. You might not be as smart as Yuri where she excels, but at least you got one thing over her. That's GGO. She wouldn't make it in this world, not like you." he said, earning a giggle from the girl.

"You're right...she'd probably shoot herself in the foot with a .38 special."

"Kureha, you shot yourself in the leg with a .38 special. You told me that was the first gun you bought. Not only that you wanted to know what shooting yourself in the head was like, so you held a .45 to your dome and pulled the trigger. You have no room to judge."

"Says the guy who held a shotgun under his chin because he wanted to replicate that South Park episode." She snapped, earning a laugh from the boy.

"Okay...that was one time. How was I supposed to know slugs would destroy my entire head and not just the top of it?"

"It isn't rocket science, a slug is just a huge chunk of lead after all." she said, looking away from the boy. He smiled a bit, placing a hand on her chin, slowly making her look back at him.

"You know...I have something to tell you."

"What's that?" she asked softly. He quirked a brow as he stood up straight, his lips curving into a smirk.

"Playing hard to get was the dumbest thing you could have ever done."

"Eh...what?"

"Kureha you are an idiot you know that? You and Zeliska were having a conversation with me outside. Not to mention my listening skill is maxed out." he said. She looked away from him, having brushed his arm aside.

"You knew?"

"Yup...not at first, until you had that conversation with Zeliska. How was it? Being slapped I mean? She did it to me in the field once and I lost three HP points." he said.

"Fuck you! How dare you tell me you knew this entire time? What about the arguments we've been having? Along the way to here? All of that was just fake? A lie?"

"Hey, if you were playing hard to get, then why shouldn't I join in?" he asked, chuckling a bit. She growled in announced, throwing a left hook at his chin.

"Take that, asshat! Don't talk to me until we're done this fucking Jam!" she shouted angrily. Haru rolled his eyes, wrapping his arms around the girl from behind, holding her in place. She stiffened a bit, feeling her heart skip a bit.

"I missed this too you know...seeing you getting mad. Whenever I pissed you off, you would always punch me like that. You were a really violent little girl."

"I had to deal with a dumb ass, comes with the territory." she admitted.

"Momiji...I don't know why you decided to play hard to get. But I need to know...do you like me back? Answer me honestly." he said. She remained silent, bowing her head slightly.

"I don't deserve you, you know? I was mean to you...I yelled at you, not just once, but twice. I gave you the cold shoulder instead of admitting my feelings. Why...what do you like about me that makes you want to be with me? I'm just...so useless."

"Ugh...this again? Momiji I've told you so many fucking times. I don't give a shit about your sister okay? Well...I do because you know...she's your family. But I don't give a shit that she can do better things than you. You are sweet, you are kind, you look so damn hot firing a sniper rifle. You are so vibrant and charismatic in this world, and insanely beautiful. Even if your avatar doesn't look like you IRL, I would still love you. Because you are my best friend...no matter what I'll always love you."

"I see." she said softly.

He didn't say anything, allowing her to process what he had told her. She shifted a bit, turning around to face the boy. She gave him a bit of a smile, leaning forward. She pressed her lips against his, taking him slightly by surprise.

His hands moved to her waist, as he pulled her closed, eagerly kissing her back. It was a surreal moment, having the woman he was in love with kiss him. He had taken her by surprise at first, but this time she had been the one to initiate it. It was just as he had imagined it to be, sweet and chaste and full of emotion. He could feel her emotions clearly through that one kiss, and to him it was worth it. He pulled apart briefly, giving her a second kiss, pressing her up against the wooden spool, his hand traveling down to her leg, lifting it up slightly. She squeaked in surprise, but didn't stop his action. She licked his lower lip, begging for entree into his mouth, which he readily agreed to. She moaned a bit as their tongues met, wrestling each other for dominance. Her free hand moved up to his head, grabbing a hold of his hair, running her gloved fingers through it. She could feel sparks traveling through her body, along with the rather annoying harassment message flying through her HUD. She only saw it as fireworks, rather a blaring alarm in her mind. She could feel her lungs begging for oxygen, but she was stubborn, she didn't want this to end.

"I think this is it Hina. This is the only room that...well what do we have here?"

"Gah!" Haru cried, jumping away from Kureha, panting a bit as he saw Zeliska standing at the door, holding her AA-12 in her grasp. She sighed, shaking her head.

"I get that you two are teenagers, but would you at least wait until the Halloween Jam is over before you start hiding the sausage?"

"Shut up! It wasn't like that Zeliska, sheesh!" Kureha shouted, her cheeks tinged pink. She was panting a bit for breath, glad that she could finally breathe again.

"Zeliska, where is Master hiding the sausage? I didn't see him grab any provisions before we left Glocken." Hinata asked, a look of innocence on her face.

"Okay, we are not having this conversation. Zeliska you keep your damn mouth shut. Make sure your weapons are primed and ready, we leave in five." Haru snapped. His face was red in embarrassment as he looked away from the two girls. He licked his lips slightly, feeling rather giddy at the kiss he and Kureha had just shared. He looked over his shoulder at the pinkette, who was trying her hardest not to look at him. They locked eyes briefly, and she gave him a wink, a content smile on her face.

 _ **xxx**_

It didn't take them long to reach the correct path in the sewers. It had become a bit hard to traverse, especially when a surprise squad started firing on them. They had missed the satellite scan because of this, and now none of them knew just how many squads were left. Haru stopped right in front of the ladder that lead up to the street. He peered up, straining his neck a bit as he saw the swirling clouds above;feeling small cold pricks of rain water on his face. He patted his pistols, frowning when he remembered he was completely out of ammunition for them, and was relying only on his sniper rifle. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and glanced at Kureha, who was holding an M9 to him, along with a spare magazine.

"You left this at the apartment remember? It should carry you until we reach the emergency room." she said. He took a hold of it, giving the girl a smile as he racked the slide.

"Thanks Kureha."

"So, is it safe to assume you two have finally made up?" Zeliska asked.

"Yes...despite what you saw, I haven't given Haru a proper answer. I've decided to wait until the Jam." the pinkette said.

"I'm okay with that...allow me to go first. The last thing we want is another surprise ambush." he said. The girls gave him a nod, and he started up the ladder, keeping a hold on his pistol as he climbed.

He peered out of the manhole, glancing around the area seeing it completely clear of undead, a few bodies laying on the ground. He noticed some of them had Dead markers on them, marking them as players. He climbed out of the hole, approaching one of the fallen players, seeing his body had been sliced in half. He cringed a bit, glancing up at the hospial, seeing the helicopter on the top floor.

" _Shit...so, Kirito is nearby. That mean's were most likely going to meet resistance inside the hospital. It's gonna be so much fun...not."_

"We're clear, be careful we might not be alone." he said, urging the girls to start climbing up.

He didn't know why, but he felt a shiver go down his spine. It was as if someone was watching him. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, using his listening skill to see if he could hear anything. His eyes widened a bit when he heard the subtle clicking of a scope adjustment. He slowly moved behind a nearby ambulance, pretending to check it for supplies. He shrugged off his rifle, kneeling down near the tire. He saw Kureha peek her head out of the sewer, noticing him kneeling next to the ambulance. She gave him an odd look, and he placed his finger on his lips, tapping his com link.

"Kureha, I think there's a sniper nearby. I heard the clinking of a scope, get back in the sewer, I'll tell you when you can come up." he said softly.

" _And leave you with no back up, are you insane? You only have 30 rounds in that pistol."_

"But I got nearly all my rifle ammo. You know I can go toe to toe with anyone as long as I got bullets. Just wait until I give you the signal." he said, earning a sigh from the girl. He started moving around the ambulance, rising his rifle to his shoulder, peeking through the scope.

" _I gotta figure out where they might be aiming at. No vantage points anywhere...wait...there is one."_ he thought, glancing over his shoulder.

The street he was on followed a curve, it was a one way street where the Ambulances usually parked in front of the Emergency Door. The exit to the hospital was blocked by huge barriers, preventing anyone, alive or infected from moving forward. The other side of the street was also blocked, meaning there was only one way in or out, that being the sewers. But since this was VR, that meant people could enter the apartments nearby. There was one that gave a good vantage point of the hospital entrance and the manhole. Meaning if they got a good vantage point, they could potentially cover both. He moved around the front of the ambulance, looking directly at the apartment, seeing several open windows, all of them giving a good birds eye view of the entire street.

"Hinata, Kureha, Zeliska...the apartments that face the hospital are most likely hiding a squad. If I were to guess, it's either Kirito's squad, or someone else. They have the manhole covered as well as the entrance to the hospital, we can't let them shoot any of you. So until I say, don't leave that post."

" _Understood, what would you like us to do until then?"_ Zeliska asked curiously. He sighed, remaining silent for a brief moment. He noticed the granite sign that was placed just outside of the entrance of Mercy Hospital, the golden letters shining in the low light. He smirked a bit, a plan already in mind.

"Okay...we have to get them to take a shot. If it's a sniper then the second shot will be visible. There's a granite sign nearby, I want Zeliska to move behind it. She has more ammo for her rifle than you Kureha. Hinata cover both of them alright?"

" _Okay Master! I'll focus on covering Zeliska's movements!"_ the AI eagerly replied.

" _Are you sure this will work Haru?"_

"It'll have too...it's the only thing we can do." he said. He heard a sigh on the other line, but no one said anything. He waited patiently for Zeliska to start climbing up, moments later she appeared out of the manhole. She started walking toward the entrance, keeping her eyes peeled. Haru heard the clicking again, a smirk appearing on his face. He crouched down, his feet glowing slightly as he activated a skill.

"Omnia Vanitas." he chanted, dashing forward. He took three steps, grabbing a hold of Zeliska as he ran, ducking behind a car. At the same time, the sniper took their shoot, having missed entirely.

Having regained his footing, Haru quickly shouldered his rifle, aiming at the open window, firing a shot. He fired a second in quick succession, following it with a third, breaking the glass. Zeliska, though surprised, stepped up next to the boy, opening fire on the building, while he took cover. It didn't take long for Kureha and Hinata to come out of the sewers, joining their friends, hiding behind the granite sign. They all opened fire on the building, not relenting in the slightest.

Zeliska had a small smirk on her face as she continued lighting up the building. He eyes widened a bit when she saw a rather large bullet line in the center of her chest. Haru tackled her out of the way, just in time to avoid getting hit.

"Let's go!" he said, pulling her to her feet. He took cover behind the granite sign, which started being shot at moments later.

"We aren't letting you get in there Haru!" a familiar voice cried out. He peeked from around the corner, seeing the smiling face of Yuuki Konno, one of his friends. The violet haired girl was running at him, a photon sword in her hand. He tried taking aim at her, but she kept ducking left and right, making it impossible for him to get an aim.

"Master, take this!" Hinata cried, throwing something at him, which he quickly caught. His eyes looked it over in a brief second, a smile on his face. He pressed the button, the Photon Sword sparked to life and he rose it in time to guard Yuuki's strike, sparks falling all around them. He pushed her back, the extra seconds he gained were used to sling his rifle across his back.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here. Thought you'd be in the building." he said, earning a playful smirk from the girl.

"I thought we would lay an ambush. We're a recon squad of sorts, me, Rain, Klein, Strea, and Philia. We've been taking down players, waiting until we ran into you." she said.

"You aren't going to make this easy for us are you?" he asked curiously, causing her to shake her head.

"Nope, I'm afraid not." she replied. She ran forward, swinging her sword at him, which he easily dodged. He grabbed a hold of her arm, throwing her away from him, but she regained her footing, coming back at him just as quick. She pulled her sword back, activating the skill Sharp Nail, thrusting her sword at him.

" _God what do I do? My sword skills are a bit rusty, I haven't used any of them since I got my sniper rifle."_ he thought, weaving back and forth to dodge her attack. He swung his sword hard, abusing the post skill cooldown to push the girl back. She hit the ambulance, stumbling a bit before regaining her footing. He swung his sword again, leaving a glowing orange gash on the side of the vehicle.

"You aren't gonna win Haru! Just give up!" Yuuki teased, a smirk on her face.

"Aw come on Yuuki! Just let me be, I took you on a motorcycle ride remember?"

"Muu...don't use that on me!" she cried back, reaching for her handgun. He reached behind his back for his M9, dashing at her at the same time. He pulled the trigger five times, stunning the girl as each round struck her body. He pulled his sword back, driving it through her mid section.

"Too slow!" he teased, earning a growl from the girl. She pressed the barrel of her gun to his chest, pulling the trigger once. He lost his footing, falling to the ground, clutching the bleeding wound. Yuuki was about to finish him off, when several bullet lines appeared on her body, courtesy of Kureha and Zeliska. They opened fire on the girl, who was forced to retreat to the safety of the ambulance.

"Haru! Get your fucking ass in here!" Kureha shouted. The boy quickly stood up, grabbing a hold of his weapons, racing toward the Hospital entrance. He dove over the reception counter, just as a hail of gunfire tore into the emergency room. Haru peeked above the desk, seeing a crimson blur dashing forward, a pair of familiar SMG's in its grasp.

"Shit, it's Rain. They're moving in, hurry and close this door!" he said, pulling himself into the room. Zeliska closed and locked the door, placing the bar in the slats, preventing it from opening. They pulled a pair of filing cabinets in front of it, just for an added measure, bullets tearing through the wall.

"We can't stay here for long. Klein is with them and he has an RPG, they'll blow this door open soon." he said, forcing himself to stand up. His eyes drifted to his HP bar, seeing it was still slowly dropping. Kureha grabbed the last remaining Health Kit, and started patching him up.

"Then let's hurry up and go."

"There's another thing you should know, Yuuki told me they were a recon squad. Seems to me like they aren't interested in winning, the real challenge is already in the hospital. Kirito, Asuna, Leafa, Sinon, Liz and Silica are most likely already here. They're probably staking out this place, waiting for squads to take them down." he said.

"Not a bad idea...what about the infected spawn rates?" Zeliska asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, but the spawn rates seem to be at random. Cardinal is using something called "The Director." meaning it allows this option to decide what goes on." Hinata said. They all let out a sudden yelp as another hail of gunfire started striking the wall. Haru hit the small pile of ammo, quickly replenishing ammunition on all of his weapons. He grabbed the M4A1 that had been left on the table, along with all of the ammo he could carry with it.

"Let's go, I think I know where Kirito and his squad are making a stand. There's an ammo dump in front of the elevator on the fourth floor. They're probably taking care of the infected and going back to it. This is gonna be the hardest leg of the journey. So let's go in and give them hell...the Young Bloods are gonna win this shit!" he said firmly.

"Ura!" Zeliska shouted happily. She started heading for the door, along with Hinata.

"This is gonna be fun...are you ready Haru?" Kureha asked.

"Damn straight, you love close quarters combat no? This is gonna be fun for you too. Before we go, is it alright if I give you something?" he asked.

"Sure." she replied, a confused look on her face. She was half expecting to get an item, when she instead received a kiss on the lips. She giggled softly, leaning into it before breaking it.

"What was that for?"

"Good luck. I know your aim is true, but we'll need it more than ever now." he said, giving her a wink.

"Oi lovebirds, any day now." Zeliska said, a look of amusement on her face. Haru rolled his eyes, heading toward the exit. Kureha followed suit, cheeks flushed pink.

" _I feel so happy...I was such an idiot earlier. Maybe...I'll finally have something my sister doesn't have. A sweet guy that loves me for myself...I can't wait until this is over. I'm gonna kiss him until he passes out."_ she thought a grin on her face as she thought about her childhood friend, and the boy she had fallen hopelessly in love with.


End file.
